Lizzie McGuire: Senior Year
by Tanguay18
Summary: Complete Chapter 21 on September 27th! Last chapter: Graduation (it's about their senior year, what else would the last chapter be about?).
1. School's Out

Disclaimer: This will be the one and only time that I tell you, I don't own any of the characters that you see on the TV show Lizzie McGuire. Disney owns them and they won't share. So if you are some crazy lawyer out to sue poor kids, please leave me alone. I'm only worth about $1000.  
  
Summary: Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda are finally in their senior year (and so am I). This story is going to be partially based on my own experiences during my senior year. I don't have any major plot ideas set in stone yet, but I hope this story isn't too boring. Keep in mind some of the things in this story have happened at my school, so I'm not totally making it up. At any rate, here is the beginning of my story.  
  
Chapter One  
  
"Woohoo!," Lizzie McGuire exclaimed as the final bell rang on the last day of her junior year," We are seniors now!"  
  
"I know, this is awesome," Miranda exclaimed.  
  
"Only one more year before we are off to college and out into the real world," Gordo said.  
  
"Not now Gordo," Lizzie warned," tomorrow is the first day of summer vacation. It's time to have fun. Let's put college aside until this fall. This summer is going to be all about having a good time."  
  
The three walked down the hallways of Hillridge High heading to clear out their lockers. They were excited for their summer to be starting and they made plans to meet at the Gordon house in the morning since Gordo's parents were out of town for a couple days. They could plan out their summer without interruption from their parents.   
  
"Well, for once, I am looking forward to next school year. We are going to be seniors. I love saying that, don't you?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Yes, we're seniors," Lizzie laughed.  
  
"Can you guys believe it's already senior year? It seems like just yesterday we graduated from 8th grade," Gordo was lost in memory.   
  
"Oh yeah, remember our trip to Rome?" Lizzie smiled at the memory.  
  
"That was amazing," Gordo said," after you got rid of Paolo."  
  
Lizzie's expression turned sour at the mention of that name. She had felt so used and so naive. She was still angry at how mean some people could be, but that's why she loved her best friend, Miranda and her boyfriend, Gordo.  
  
"I can't believe I missed out on that trip," Miranda sighed," and missed out on you two finally deciding to become a couple."  
  
"Well, as you put it when you came back from Mexico and found out 'everyone at school was waiting for you to be a couple and they were even thinking about placing bets on when you would actually do it'," Lizzie reminded her.  
  
"It was pretty obvious to everyone, but you two that you liked eachother," Miranda said, matter-of-factly.  
  
"I still can't believe you didn't take that record offer they gave you after your performance at the IMVAs," Gordo shook his head.  
  
"I told you alredy, I have only a few years where I can just be a carefree kid. If I would have become a popstar, I would have had to work all the time and instead of the high school experience, I would have just been taught by some tutor. I didn't want to miss out on high school, or my friends," she planted a big kiss on Gordo's lips.   
  
"I always knew you were really smart," Gordo replied.  
  
"Yeah, Lizzie, that's just about the smartest thing I've ever heard. If it was me, I would have taken up the offer immediately. You really thought it out though," Miranda said truthfully.  
  
~(The Next Day at Gordo's House)~  
  
"So, what should we do this summer?" Gordo asked.  
  
"We should go somewhere," Miranda offered.   
  
"Yeah, we should take a trip together. That would be fun," Lizzie said.  
  
"Where should we go?" Gordo pondered aloud.  
  
"How about New York? I've always wanted to go there," Miranda suggested.  
  
"Maybe, but we should make it like a road trip. So we can stop at different places along the way," Lizzie said.  
  
"Like a cross-country trip," Gordo added," and we can visit all the states on the way there."  
  
"That would be awesome. And between the three of us, we should have plenty of money saved from all the jobs we've had," Miranda agreed.  
  
"Now the only trouble is to get our parents to agree," Lizzie reminded her friends.  
  
"Oh yeah. That might be a little hard," Gordo said," I mean, my parents would probably be okay, but I don't know about you Liz. They couldn't stand your being in Rome for two weeks. This might take most of the summer."  
  
"We'll just have to tell our parents, it's probably the last summer we'll spend together. I mean, you've got that early college admission thing Gordo. Next summer you'll be in class. I think if we talk to them together, we can convince them that this is a good idea," Miranda explained.   
  
"We've got nothing to lose by asking them," Lizzie said. 


	2. Pretty Please?

Summary: Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda are finally in their senior year (and so am I). This story is going to be partially based on my own experiences during my senior year. I don't have all of my plot ideas set in stone yet, but I hope this story isn't too boring. Keep in mind some of the things in this story have happened at my school, so I'm not totally making it up. At any rate, here's the next chapter of my story.  
  
Chapter 2- Pretty Please?  
  
"Please," Miranda begged her parents.   
  
"All right. I suppose you and your friends have made a good point. As long as the McGuires are okay with, I guess I am too," Mr. Sanchez finally agreed.  
  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I love you Dad," Miranda exclaimed.  
  
"Well, that's two down and one to go," Gordo said.  
  
"Yeah and my parents will be the toughest," Lizzie sighed.  
  
"Okay, we're off to ask the McGuires," Miranda informed her parents.   
  
"Good luck," Miranda's mother said.  
  
As soon as they were out the door, Gordo stated," Your parents have to agree now. Both of our parents said yes. I can't go on a cross country road trip without my girlfriend by my side."  
  
"Oh, and what am I? Chopped liver?" Miranda pretended to be angry.  
  
"No. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant if one of can't go, then none of us go. This is supposed to be a trip for the three of us together," Gordo recovered.  
  
"You two better not start arguing now," Lizzie joked," or I will change my mind about this whole trip."  
  
"Okay, okay, we won't," Miranda laughed," right, Gordo?"  
  
"Who? Me? Argue? Never, I'm far too smart for that," he said in a high nasal voice.  
  
The three friends burst out into laughter. They all hoped that Lizzie's parents would go for their plan. If they did, this would be the trip of a lifetime. They had been best friends for as long as they could remember and they had never had been away together without an adult tagging along with them. It's not that they wanted to do anything that their parents would be opposed to, they just wanted to feel the freedom of being out on the open road with no schedule to follow.  
  
Lizzie lead her friends into her house and called out," Mom? Dad? Could you please come down here for a minute?"  
  
Both of the McGuire parents came down from whatever they had been up to upstairs.  
  
"What's up, sweetheart?" Sam McGuire asked.  
  
"Let's go sit down," Gordo suggested.  
  
"Yeah, this could take a while," Lizzie muttered under her breath.  
  
Seeing the looks of concern on the adults' faces Miranda assured," Don't worry. It's nothing bad."  
  
"Well?" Jo McGuire asked once everyone was settled.  
  
Lizzie took a deep breath," Okay. You guys know that this is our last summer together because even though we have one more before college starts, Gordo is going to college next summer."  
  
"Yes," Lizzie's parents said in unison.  
  
Gordo picked up," So we were thinking that we should spend this summer together and do something. And once we got to talking, we all decided that it would be really fun if we went on a trip together."  
  
"Yeah and I suggested we go to New York because I've always wanted to go there," Miranda added.  
  
"Anyway, we decided the best way to go would be to take a road trip and drive across the country and do some sight-seeing. So we were hoping that, if it was okay with you guys, Gordo, Miranda and I could take a trip across the country to New York. Just the three of us. To spend our last summer together having fun," Lizzie finished.  
  
Both parents were silent for a moment before they both started talking at the same time.  
  
"No way," Jo said.  
  
"I think that's a great idea," Sam said.  
  
"Oh boy," Lizzie rolled her eyes.  
  
"What do you mean?" Jo asked her husband.  
  
"Come on honey. They are almost eighteen and it is their last chance to get away and have fun before school and before they all separate," Sam explained.  
  
"What did your parents say?" Jo turned to Miranda and Gordo.  
  
"My parents were a little reluctant, but they finally agreed," Miranda said.  
  
"My parents thought it would be a great experience for us. They went right for it," Gordo said.  
  
"Pretty please?" Lizzie gave her mother a puppy dog look.  
  
"All right. Here's the deal: you guys give me one day to think about it. Is that fair?" Jo asked.  
  
"That's plenty fair," Lizzie agreed, nudging her friends. She could believe that her mother might actually go for this. She shut her eyes for a second and hoped her dad could talk her mom into letting them go.   
  
"Sounds fair to me," Miranda replied.  
  
"Me too," Gordo chimed in.  
  
~(One Day Later at the McGuire House)~  
  
"All right," Jo McGuire said to the eagerly awaiting teens," I have finally decided that you can go on your trip."  
  
"Yay!" they jumped up in excitement.  
  
"On a few conditions. First, you must promise to drive carefully. Second, you must take your cellphones and promise to call and check in every day or two. Third, you must promise not to do anything stupid or dangerous," Jo finished.  
  
"Yes. We promise to do all of that," Lizzie agreed.  
  
Jo eyed her daughter scrutinizingly then smiled," I can't believe I'm letting my baby girl go across the country without me."  
  
Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda each hugged and thanked Jo McGuire. They called the rest of the parents and decided to have a dinner together to discuss their plans and any rules they wanted to set for their kids. Everyone was excited for the trip. 


	3. Time To Hit the Road

A/N: Sorry about the length since the last update. I have been extremely busy at school. I have Powder Puff practice after school, plus three clubs and the usual 2 hours of homework! That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for writing. Last weekend I spent helping somebody move so I couldn't update then. Hopefully after October 15th, I should be able to update sooner. That's the day of the Powder Puff football game, so I won't have as much to do. Thanks for your patience.  
  
Chapter 3: Time To Hit the Road  
  
"Bye Mom, Dad," Gordo said. His parents smiled at him. They had secretly put some money in his suitcase. They wanted him to have it and they knew that he wouldn't take money from them. He waited for Lizzie to come pick him up. They decided to take her car because it was the most suited for a cross-country trip. It was relatively new, in good shape, and had plenty of leg room.  
  
Lizzie pulled into the Gordon's driveway with Miranda exactly at 8 AM as she had promised.   
  
"Looks like it's time to hit the road," Miranda said.  
  
Lizzie helped Gordo load his bags into her trunk and said goodbye to the Gordons. Miranda wanted to drive first, so she got into the driver's seat while Lizzie and Gordo sat in the back seat. The three waved a final goodbye to Gordo's parents and headed to the freeway.  
  
"Goodbye Hillridge!" Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"See ya," Miranda added.  
  
"Oh boy, you're talking to inanimate objects again," Gordo said.  
  
"Hey, I'm just glad to be getting out of here," Miranda explained as she merged onto the freeway, " so where should we go first?"   
  
"Let's just drive for a little while and then stop for breakfast," Lizzie suggested," you guys didn't eat did you?"  
  
"Nope," Miranda said.  
  
"I figured we'd go out to eat," Gordo replied.  
  
"And if we didn't?" Lizzie asked.  
  
Gordo said," I've got some Pop-Tarts in my backpack."  
  
"You're always prepared Gordo," Miranda rolled her eyes.  
  
"Anyway, what should be our first big stop?" Lizzie asked seriously.  
  
"I was kind of thinking of visiting the Grand Canyon," Gordo put in.  
  
"That's actually a cool idea," Miranda agreed," what do you think Lizzie?"  
  
"Sounds okay, but I'm kinda afraid of heights," she answered.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall in," Gordo squeezed her hand.   
  
Lizzie smiled," Grand Canyon it is."  
  
~(At the Grand Canyon in Arizona)~  
  
Lizzie was holding onto Gordo's hand as tightly as she could as the trio approached the edge of the Grand Canyon.   
  
"I'm gonna trip and fall, I just know it," Lizzie worried.  
  
"Calm down Liz, you'll be fine," Gordo soothed.  
  
"Come on, it's going to be awesome," Miranda tried to convince her friend.  
  
Lizzie took a deep breath and approached the guardrail. She let go of Gordo's hand only to take a death grip on the guard rail. Then she looked out over the edge.   
  
"Oh wow, it really is amazing," Lizzie let her breath out.  
  
"I'd hate to fall in there," Miranda whistled," it's a loooong way down."  
  
Gordo nudged her," You're not helping Lizzie."  
  
"It's okay," Lizzie said," now that I'm here, I'm not quite as scared. It's breathtaking isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah," Miranda agreed.  
  
"It sure is," Gordo stared out at the canyon.   
  
"And if you really think, it's just a big hole in the ground," Lizzie mused.  
  
"That's one huge hole," Miranda laughed.  
  
"Yeah, a mile deep and a couple miles wide. That's one gigantic hole in the ground," Gordo smirked.  
  
Lizzie smacked his arm lightly," Don't make fun of me. That's all it really is. I wouldn't want to fall in it though."  
  
Gordo noticed she had lightened her grip on the guard rail. He thought about pretending to push her, but then he thought that would be too cruel. He couldn't do that to his girlfriend. Especially since she was very afraid of heights. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. She leaned into him and smiled contentedly.  
  
Miranda rolled her eyes. She hated it when they got all lovey-dovey. It made her feel like a third wheel. She still loved her friends and she knew they were meant to be together, but it still bothered her to see them kiss. She headed back to the car and got a water bottle out of the cooler Lizzie brought along. She thought about where else they could go. She didn't really know a whole lot about the middle portion of the United States. She got out a map and looked to see which states were nearby and if they had any major attractions that she could remember. She noticed that the continental divide was in Colorado. She had heard once that there was probably snow up there even in June. They could go there just to say they saw snow in June.   
  
Eventually Lizzie and Gordo made their way back to the car where Miranda was still studying the map.  
  
"What are ya looking at?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Where we should go next. I was thinking about going through Colorado. There's supposed to still be snow on the continental divide. It would be cool to see snow in June," she explained.  
  
"Sounds cool to me," Lizzie said.  
  
"Snow in June. Now that I'd like to see," Gordo replied.  
  
"All right. Gordo it's your turn to drive," Miranda said as she folded the map.  
  
A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a little boring. It's been a while since I've been to the Grand Canyon so I don't remember much. I basically wanted to get them on the road. 


	4. Colorado

Chapter 4: Colorado  
  
Gordo pulled into the dirt parking lot at the top of Berthoud Pass in Colorado.   
  
"Am I ever glad I wasn't driving!" Lizzie proclaimed," that road was a little too curvy for my liking."  
  
"Oh brrr!" Miranda exhaled when she climbed out of the car," it's cold up here."  
  
"We're quite a bit higher in altitude than the last time we got out of the car. It is a little chilly," Gordo agreed.  
  
"Chilly?! Gordo it has to be like 40 degrees or something," Lizzie cried.  
  
"Here, it's a good thing we all brought jackets," Miranda said as she handed them their warm jackets.  
  
Before Lizzie could say thank you, something cold and wet hit the side of her head.   
  
"What the-?" she reached up to pull a clump of snow out of her hair," GOR-DO!"  
  
He just laughed and ran away. Lizzie whispered to Miranda and the two made their own snowballs. They split up to chase Gordo down. Lizzie's snowball whizzed past his ear. Miranda's throw was more accurate. It nailed him on the back of his head.   
  
"Okay, I give up," Gordo surrendered," that was a great shot Miranda."  
  
"Thanks," she replied smugly.  
  
Lizzie ran up and tackled Gordo, shoving a snowball down the back of his shirt.   
  
"Hey! That's cold!" he cried out in surprise.  
  
"That'll teach you to hit me without a warning, Gordon," Lizzie pretended to be tough.  
  
Lizzie helped Gordo up off the ground and giggled as he danced around trying to get the snowball out. Gordo glared at her and then planted a kiss straight on her lips. They linked arms and headed over to the edge of the parking lot. There was steep incline and across the way there were some snow capped mountains. They were slightly higher than the one they were currently on. The two were breathing hard from chasing eachother and it was cold enough that you could see their breath. Miranda joined her friends on the edge.   
  
"What a nice view," she commented.  
  
"Yeah, did you know that rickety, old, wooden building behind us used to be a ski lodge?" Gordo asked.  
  
"No. This doesn't really look like a ski area," Lizzie replied.  
  
"See the ski-lifts over there," Gordo pointed up the side of the mountain.  
  
"Oh. I didn't know what those were," Lizzie said.  
  
"Yeah, but I think they closed the ski resort. They weren't getting enough business to keep up with taking care of the lodge," Gordo explained.  
  
"I wouldn't want to drive all the way up that road when it was snowing," Miranda told her friends.  
  
"Yeah, the snow up here can get pretty deep," Gordo replied, knowingly.  
  
"So wait, since when do you know so much about Colorado history?" Lizzie wondered aloud.  
  
"When we were in the hotel last night, I looked up some information. They had computers with internet access in the lobby," Gordo explained.  
  
Miranda nodded her head," I knew you were up to something last night."  
  
"I couldn't sleep, so I got up and no one else was around and I did some research. My parents insisted that we at least do something educational. There's our lesson for the trip. Now we can say we learned something and it won't be a lie. Though, who knows when we'll ever need to know that there's a ski resort on the top of Berthoud Pass?" he shook his head slightly.  
  
"Yeah. I don't think we'll be back here anytime soon," Lizzie laughed," it's too far away. So, I did some research last night too. It turns out there's a Six Flags Theme Park in Denver. I figured that when we drive down from the mountains we can stay in Denver. It's the biggest city in Colorado, so there's bound to be stuff to do. I thought it might be fun to go see what the amusment parks are like here. They're no where near as fancy as the Disney parks in Cali, but it's worth a visit, don't you think?"  
  
"Cool. I didn't think there were any themeparks around here. I'm all for something fun. Sightseeing is nice, but we are still teens and we need to do something fun," Miranda agreed.  
  
"That's fine with me. It's your turn to drive, but I can drive until we get out of the mountains," Gordo offered.  
  
"Thanks," Lizzie accepted the offer.  
  
~(Somewhere on Southbound I-25, north of Denver)~  
  
Lizzie was finally taking a turn to drive. She was fine until they had merged onto Interstate 25. It was the most confusing freeway she had ever driven on. She knew the exit where she needed to exit the freeway, but it was hard to get in the right lane.  
  
"Oh no! I'm in an exit only lane. I can't get over. We're going to get lost somewhere," Lizzie worried.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll just get off the freeway and then ask for directions back if we can't find it," Gordo soothed.  
  
"I've never been on such a confusing highway in my life!" Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"It's all right. If you want me to drive, I will," Miranda volunteered.  
  
"No that's okay," Lizzie said," it's just frustrating.   
  
~(20 Minutes Later, Parking Lot For Six Flag's Elitch Gardens)~  
  
"When we finally leave Denver, I am not driving," Lizzie told her friends.   
  
She had been sucked off I-25 one more time. Fortunately, both times she was able to find her way back on easily, although the second time, she accidentally headed northbound.  
  
"I don't blame you," Gordo said," I don't want to drive here either. But, let's forget that for now. Let's just go into the park and have some fun."  
  
"I can do that," Lizzie grinned.  
  
Miranda said," I am ready to forget about the stupid highway for several hours."  
  
The three friends made their way to the park entrance. Once inside, they were greeted by the hundred-year-old ferris wheel with a sign that read: "Not to see Elitch's is not to see Denver."   
  
Upon reading that Gordo said," Well, it's a good thing we came here. Otherwise we would have missed Denver."  
  
"Oh I don't think I could live with myself if I missed seeing Denver," Lizzie said in a very fake voice.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Lizzie McGuire. All the places mentioned in Colorado are real and do not belong to me. The sign on the ferris wheel in the story is real. I didn't make that part up.  
  
Note: If I get place names wrong, don't yell at me. After Colorado, I haven't actually been to any of the places they will visit. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make.  
  
A/N: I am so sorry about how boring this chapter was. I think I will hurry up and finish the trip because I read this chapter and couldn't believe how incredibly boring it is.  
  
Also, the little bit on how crappy I-25 is a little bit of satire on my part. I hate driving on it. Everyone who comes from out of state to visit tells us how bad it is about sucking you off. You'll think you're safe one minute, the next minute you're exiting onto some street you've never heard of. So my advice, if you have to drive through Colorado try to avoid I-25, especially the part of it that runs in south Denver. They're doing a construction project some idiot decided to call "T-rex" (transportation expansion) and that is a disaster, even to those who drive there every day. I'll stop rambling now. Bye. 


	5. On To NYC!

Chapter 5: On To NYC!  
  
(On the road again, Miranda driving)  
  
"Well that was very fun. I'm glad we got to stop at that amusement park. It's not the best one I've been to, but I really enjoyed the rides," Miranda said.  
  
"Too bad we couldn't get Lizzie on the Tower of Doom, you chicken!" Gordo teased.  
  
"Yeah, let's take the girl who is terrified of heights up 300 feet in the air so we can watch her freak out, what friends you are!" Lizzie exclaimed.   
  
"It was great. That free-fall feeling is so much fun. Even if you are afraid of heights, the whole thing is over so fast. When you get to the top, you sit for about 5 seconds, the next thing you know, you're on the ground!" Miranda said.  
  
"At least you didn't miss out on the Mind Eraser. That was my favorite," Gordo said.  
  
"That was the best roller coaster," Lizzie admitted," I like having your feet dangle like that. Being in the cars is, I don't know, scarier somehow. And that wooden coaster, talk about jerky, I think my ribs are bruised from that restraint and the fifty times I bounced off it."  
  
"Yeah, I mean I love roller coasters, but that one was a bit too rough for my taste," Gordo said.  
  
(Much closer to the east coast, Gordo driving, Lizzie riding shotgun)  
  
"So what are we going to do now?" Miranda asked," we're getting pretty close to the eastern seaboard. It's almost time to start heading north."   
  
"I don't know, but it's on to NYC no matter what!" Lizzie proclaimed.   
  
"Yeah, on to NYC!" Miranda shouted.  
  
"I'm not sure what there is on the way now. I'll have to look at the map when we stop for lunch. Let's just keep going east for now," Gordo said," I'm sure we'll eventually find somewhere for lunch."  
  
"Well, I know that when we go through Pennsylvania, we should stop and see the Liberty Bell," Miranda said.  
  
"Yeah, it's a big historical icon. We could see that, take pictures, so our parents believe we did spend more than 30 seconds on educational stuff," Lizzie agreed.   
  
"Cool, I didn't think you girls would be interested in historical stuff like that. We could also stop in DC if we want. See the Lincoln Memorial and all that stuff," Gordo had a huge grin on his face.  
  
"Oh now, Gordo's inner-nerd is coming out!" Miranda exlaimed.  
  
"Hey! It's not my fault history is interesting," Gordo pouted.   
  
"Put your nerd attitude away," Lizzie warned," this is supposed to be about having fun, remember?"  
  
"You're right. I got carried away. Let's go to NYC. I know you guys are gonna be dying to go shopping," he rolled his eyes.   
  
"You're just cruising for trouble aren't you?" Lizzie pretended like she was going to slap him," I suppose you'll go see some museum or something while we shop."  
  
"Nah, I'll probably shop with you. The stores there at least will be new interesting, not like going to the same ones over and over in Hillridge," Gordo decided.  
  
"Oh shoot. We should probably call our parents now too," Miranda piped up.   
  
"Good point, it's been a while since we've called. I'm sure they'll freak out. My parents are probably dying for me to come home, it's been nearly two weeks now since we left. It's nice stopping and spending days in other places though," Lizzie pulled out her cellphone.  
  
(Back in Hillridge)  
  
"Oh, I'll get it," Matt shouted when the phone rang.   
  
"No, it's probably Lizzie, let me answer," Jo McGuire shouted.  
  
Matt answered anyway," Lizzie my man, how's your trip going?"   
  
"It's been really fun. We've been to all sorts of places. I'm sure mom's dying to talk though, can I talk to you when she's through?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Sure," Matt replied. He liked his sister now, they were both older and got along much better. He handed the phone to his waiting mother.  
  
"My baby!" she screamed," how are you?!"  
  
"Whoa Mom, I'm not deaf," Lizzie said," I'm fine."  
  
"How are Miranda and Gordo?" she inquired.  
  
"They're fine too," Lizzie said," how are you?"   
  
"I'm great. I miss you so much. Your dad's been busy painting lawn gnomes. I keep telling myself to get used to it though. You are going off to college sooner than I'd like and who knows where you'll go," Jo sighed.  
  
"Oh I miss you too Mom, but I'm having the time of my life! It is so much fun, going to other states and seeing things I wouldn't see otherwise. We've been past actual farms. I've never seen an actual dairy farm before," Lizzie said," boy do they stink!"  
  
Jo laughed," Sounds wonderful dear. I don't want to keep you too long though. I'm sure you want to talk to your father, that is if I can tear him away from his gnomes."  
  
Lizzie could hear her mother searching for her Dad. Then she heard," Sam it's Lizzie."  
  
"Hi Lizzie. Are you having lots of fun?" Sam asked his daughter.  
  
"Yes. This is the best time I've ever had," Lizzie gushed," it's just so awesome to be free to go and stop whenever we want. I haven't thanked you enough times for talking Mom into letting us go. You are the best, Dad."  
  
"Oh I remember what it was like to be young," Sam reminisced.  
  
"We'll be sure to bring you a lawn gnome from somewhere," Lizzie promised.  
  
"Really? That's great sweetheart," Sam smiled," I'll let you talk to Matt now, if you want."  
  
Sam handed the phone to his son," Lizzie, it's me again."  
  
"So how is your summer so far," Lizzie asked her brother.  
  
"Ah, just the usual. You know, boring younger kid stuff. Lanny and Melina hang out a lot. We don't get into trouble like we used to though," Matt laughed, remembering his days of trouble-making.   
  
"Sorry you couldn't come, but you understand, this is a friends thing," Lizzie explained.  
  
"Oh yeah, I understand completely. Besides, now Mom and Dad will be more likely to let me do something like this when I get to be a senior," Matt said.  
  
"Well, when we get back, I'll be sure and do something with you, so at least your summer won't be totally boring," Lizzie said.   
  
"Cool, well, I'm gonna let you go. I'm sure you don't want to be on the phone all day," Matt said.  
  
"Bye Matt!"  
  
"Bye Lizzie!"  
  
(In the car again)   
  
"Whew," Lizzie breathed," my mom wasn't as bad as I thought. She finally seems to accept the idea that I won't live at home forever."  
  
"Yeah, college is next year, you'll be moving out for a long time then," Gordo said.  
  
"These several weeks away should be like a practice for her," Lizzie said.  
  
"Well, I'm pulling off next exit so I can call my parents too," Gordo said," though I'm sure they won't have much to say, other than 'David, you are getting some educational experience right?'. I love them, but sometimes they can be so annoying."  
  
Miranda, who had been on her phone, hung up," My parents weren't worried. They just said to be sure and call when we actually get to New York."  
  
A/N: So sorry. I got so busy this year that I didn't have time to work on this story. Now I can write it, and it'll be like a retrospective on this school year for me. I think the next chapter will be the final one of their road trip. I'm tired of it, and I think they should get back to school. I apologize for this story being put on hiatus for so long. I really appreciate the reviews I received though, hope you're not too upset about it being left to sit for such a long time. At least now, I have plenty of ideas to work with. All reviews are appreciated greatly. Don't worry, it won't be another 7 months before I update again. I just needed to take a break from this story and it was May before I realized it! 


	6. New York At Last

Chapter 6: New York At Last  
  
(New York City)  
  
The trio finally arrived in New York City. It was late at night, so they checked into a hotel room. They slept well into the next day, Lizzie finally waking up at noon.   
  
"Oh, my goodness, guys it's noon!" she said, noticing the clock on the wall.  
  
"What?" Miranda asked groggily.  
  
"It's noon!" Lizzie exclaimed.   
  
"Wow," Gordo yawned," I don't think I've ever slept that late before. Let's have lunch and then hit the town!"  
  
The three friends took turns showering and getting dressed. Gordo called room service while the girls put on their makeup and lunch delivered. They ate their lunch and then chatted about where to go.   
  
"Where should we go first?" Lizzie asked through a mouthful of pizza.   
  
"How about the Statue of Liberty?" Miranda suggested," that's a pretty traditional tourist destination."  
  
"Oh yeah, that sounds good. We can decide where else to go from there. There's tons of stuff to do in New York," Gordo said.  
  
"Like shopping!" Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"We have to shop," Miranda agreed.  
  
"I knew you girls wouldn't let me leave New York without a comprehensive tour of the stores," Gordo rolled his eyes.   
  
"Come on Gordo, you said you'd go with us, you better not have an attitude the whole time or we'll ditch you somewhere," Lizzie told him.  
  
"Oh no. Don't ditch me while you guys shop," Gordo pretended to be worried.  
  
"Oh give in Gordon, you know you can't win this argument, there's two of us and one of you," Miranda joined in.   
  
"Fine, I'll be nice about it. Let's see about going to the Statue of Liberty now," Gordo finally caved in.  
  
(Inside the Statue of Liberty)  
  
The first sight they are greeted by is the statue's original torch inside the base of the statue. It is large and stands above the visitors milling around inside waiting to go up to the top of the statue. Then there is a huge line waiting to take the elevator up to the top or stairs for those who chose not to wait. The three friends opt for the stairs. After a long climb, they reach the top of the statue.  
  
"Oh my goodness, we are up high," Lizzie breathed.  
  
"Yes, well, you saw it outside, what did you expect?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Yeah Lizzie, you knew this was tall," Miranda added.  
  
"I know, I'm just saying that it seems a lot taller from in here than it does from way down there on the ground," Lizzie explained.   
  
The three got their turn to look out the windows then they had to go back down because other people were waiting to get inside the statue's head. They made their way carefully down the winding staircase to the base and then out of the statue. There were places to stop inside, but there were too many people around, so they just went outside. Gordo got another tourist to take a picture of the three of them standing in front of the Statue. They were pretty far away, so you could see the whole thing behind them.   
  
"When the ferry heads back, where shall we head shopping?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Anywhere they sell clothes," Lizzie replied.  
  
"Exactly," Miranda laughed, then said in a zombie-like voice," clothes make us happy."  
  
Gordo gave her a strange look, then started laughing too. The ferry finally came to take them back to Manhattan. They spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, then called it a day and went back to the hotel to watch movies. They bought popcorn while they were out and the three of the lay across one bed and watched movies all night.   
  
(Still NYC, one week later)   
  
"Man, I can't believe it's already time to go back home," Gordo said," New York has been great fun."  
  
"Yeah, wow, I can't believe it's already the end of June. It's probably gonna be the middle of July when we get back to California," Lizzie realized.   
  
"We're gonna be on the road on the Fourth of July," Miranda suddenly said," we'll have to stop somewhere and watch the fireworks."  
  
"Well, we COULD stay here and watch the ones in Manhattan, but I think we could go on the road and catch them somewhere. My parents sounded like they really missed me last time I called," Lizzie explained.  
  
"Yeah, we better just go and catch them wherever we happen to be. We're still taking our time going home. We have enough money to spend several more nights in hotels," Gordo had been counting their money," that is unless we stay in a really expensive hotel."  
  
Miranda sighed," New York was awesome, but I think it's time to head back home."  
  
"Okay then," Lizzie said.  
  
"Let's hit the road after lunch," Gordo decided.  
  
"Yeah, we didn't entirely unpack, since it's only a hotel room. Did you get to see everything you wanted to Miranda?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Yep, I can go home satisfied that I have seen New York and loved it," she told her friends.   
  
A/N: This chapter was a bit short. I think the next chapter, they will be back in Hillridge. I'm tired of writing their road trip and they need to get back home. I might have another chapter up tonight, but definitely expect one in the next day or two. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.   
  
Hockeylover- See, it wasn't another 7 months! Go Flyers! Go Flames! Too bad it's not the Avs. :( 


	7. Back in Hillridge!

Chapter 7: Back in Hillridge!  
  
(Nearly home-in Lizzie's car)  
  
Lizzie dropped Gordo and Miranda off first. Miranda's parents came out to meet her. They waved hello to Lizzie and invited her to come for dinner the next night. Gordo's parents didn't come outside, but Lizzie knew that they had missed him, even if they weren't as excited as Miranda's parents. Lizzie didn't mind them not coming outside though, then they could kiss eachother goodbye and not worry about it.   
  
"Lizzie, this whole trip was amazing. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my summer any other way," Gordo looked deeply into Lizzie's eyes.   
  
"Neither would I. It was the last summer with my two best friends, and it was the best," Lizzie said.   
  
"So what was your favorite part of the trip?" Gordo asked.  
  
"I think the fireworks in DC. That was pretty romantic, sitting on the banks of the river, and watching the fireworks. And Miranda was sweet enough to let us alone. She seemed to have fun with those little kids that wanted to play games. That was probably the best place to watch fireworks, and not have to worry about seeing all the sights since we already did that on the way to New York," Lizzie explained.  
  
"Yeah, that was probably my favorite part too," Gordo smiled at his girlfriend.   
  
"Of course, I loved the whole trip," Lizzie added," I love my best friends!"  
  
"Well, I should get inside and you better get home McGuire! Your parents have got to be nuts by now," Gordo laughed and got out of the car. Lizzie waited while he got his stuff out of her trunk and then drove herself home.  
  
(Home)  
  
"LIZZIE! My darling baby!" Jo McGuire ran out of the house screaming.  
  
Lizzie stepped out of the car and was nearly tackled by her mother," Whoa Mom! Calm down."  
  
"I missed you so much," Jo was already in tears," did you have fun?"  
  
"We had so much fun," Lizzie tried to squirm out of her mother's bear hug," um Mom....I can't breathe."  
  
"Oh sorry!" Jo exclaimed.  
  
By this point Matt and Sam had joined Lizzie's mother outside. Matt was grabbing things out of the trunk to carry them inside. Sam gave his daughter a quick hug.  
  
"So, Lizzie, how was your trip?" Sam asked.   
  
"It was great, I had the best time," Lizzie gushed," thanks again for talking Mom into it. I love you Dad!"  
  
"I love you too, sweetie. I'm glad you had such a good time," Sam joined his son in getting things out of the car.   
  
"Welcome home sis," Matt said as he carried a duffel bag past Lizzie.   
  
"Hey Matt!" Lizzie returned.   
  
"Okay Lizzie, you have to come inside and tell us all about your trip," Jo ushered her daughter inside.  
  
"But what about the rest of my stuff, I should help carry it in," Lizzie tried to go back outside.  
  
"No, let the boys get it, they don't mind," Jo pulled her over to the couch.   
  
"Okay," Lizzie followed her mother," oh yeah, the Sanchezes want us to come over for dinner tomorrow. They figured we'd want to spend tonight together, but they want us to come have dinner with them. I think they've been lonely with Miranda gone for so long."  
  
"That's fine. I'll have to cook you a nice home-cooked dinner tonight, you haven't had one in so long!" Jo realized.  
  
"I can't wait to taste your cooking, restaurants are good, but your own mother's cooking is always the best," Lizzie told her Mom, knowing that's just what she'd love to hear.   
  
"We can catch up over dinner, I'm going to go start now, this dinner should be perfect for you!" Jo rushed off to figure out what to make for dinner.   
  
Sam, who had heard the exchange said," Well Lizzie, it seems you're getting pretty good at knowing what your mother wants."  
  
"Oh hey Dad, I didn't know you were right there," Lizzie smiled sheepishly," I love Mom, but I just got home and I want to go take a shower and unpack some of my stuff. I've got loads of laundry to do!"  
  
"Yeah, well it's nice to have you home again, Lizzie," Sam said as she went up to her bedroom.  
  
Matt followed her to her bedroom," So did you do anything Mom and Dad shouldn't hear about?"  
  
"Ma-aatt!" Lizzie said, pretending to be mad," not that I'll tell **you** about!"  
  
Matt's jaw dropped," What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing actually, I just like to tease you," Lizzie laughed.   
  
"I knew you were a goody-goody," Matt sighed.  
  
"So what have you been up to?" Lizzie inquired.  
  
"A whole lot of nothing," Matt said," but you said we could do something, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I was thinking at some point we could take a little weekend trip or something," Lizzie explained as she sorted her clothes for the laundry.   
  
"Cool. Did you have anywhere in mind?" Matt asked.  
  
"No, I thought you might though," Lizzie tossed a shirt over her shoulder and it landed on Matt's head.  
  
"Hey!" he cried out.  
  
"Oops, sorry," Lizzie laughed.  
  
"You did that on purpose," Matt accused, throwing the shirt back at her.  
  
"I did not!" Lizzie threw a skirt at him.  
  
"No, but that one was on purpose," he picked up a pillow and threw at her.  
  
"Hey!" Lizzie exclaimed, grabbing another pillow.  
  
They beat eachother with pillows for a few minutes, then acted innocent when Jo came running up the stairs at the noise.  
  
"I was just helping Lizzie unpack," Matt smiled at his mother.  
  
"Right," she glared at him.  
  
"No, he was Mom, honest," Lizzie said.  
  
Jo looked at them both suspiciously," All right, if you say so. Whatever you were doing, don't do it again."  
  
As she left, Matt and Lizzie gave eachother a look and laughed.   
  
"You're never too old for a pillow fight," Lizzie winked at Matt.  
  
"So is that what you do with Miranda when you spend the night over there?" matt asked.  
  
"No," Lizzie rolled her eyes," so are you actually gonna help me or are you just going to stand there, mindlessly."  
  
"I choose none of the above," Matt said, backing out of her room," I'm outta here."  
  
Lizzie finished sorting out her clothes and then took them to the laundry room. She didn't feel like starting laundry at the moment, so she figured either she'd do them later or her mother would. She went back up to her room and decided to lay down for a little while. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep. She hadn't realized how much she missed her bed.   
  
A/N: Another chapter for you. I think I might post the next chapter later today, but don't hold me to that. I have a lot of chores to do so I might not get back to the computer today! Reviews are always loved and appreciated. Thanks to the reviewer who suggested the fireworks in DC, I already forgot your name! lol. 


	8. Summer's End

Chapter 8: Summer's End  
  
Before Lizzie knew it, summer was nearly over. She and Matt had decided to take a trip to LA. Lizzie didn't mind going there, she always loved to shop. She didn't bring Gordo or Miranda, this was a brother and sister thing. They left early one morning and spent the whole day visiting different places in LA. Then they stopped to have lunch.  
  
"Hey, what's this?" Lizzie pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and gave Matt a funny look.  
  
"I don't know," Matt said through a mouthful of food," why don't you look at it and see?"  
  
"Very smart, wise guy," Lizzie said as she unfolded the paper. It was a note from her mother.  
  
"So what is it?" Matt inquired.  
  
"A note from Mom, it says: 'Dear Lizzie and Matt, I have reserved and paid for a hotel room for you two to stay the night in LA. You can stay as long as you want in LA tomorrow. See you back in little, old Hillridge I hope! Love, Mom.' Did you know about this?" she asked her brother.  
  
"No. So we get to spend two days here, that's so cool," Matt grinned," I don't know if I can drag myself away though."  
  
"Well Mom sure thought we might not want to leave, that little part about 'see you back in little old Hillridge I hope'. Like we could stay here," Lizzie laughed.  
  
"Not on our own," Matt said," but I think this is where I want to come for college."  
  
"Well you still have years to decide that," Lizzie told Matt," but I have to hurry up and decide soon."  
  
"Yeah, wow," Matt started," I didn't realize how quickly you will be off to college. Only about a year. Time sure goes by fast. I guess this will be one of our last times together. I mean we live together, but not very often do we spend time together apart from mom and dad or Gordo and Miranda."  
  
"Oh don't start, I don't want to think about that yet," Lizzie said.  
  
"Okay. So, where to next?" Matt asked, changing the subject.  
  
"I know exactly where we are going," Lizzie smiled mysteriously," you'll love it, but I'm not telling you where."  
  
"What? Tell me. I hate secrets," Matt whined.  
  
"Not telling you," Lizzie was enjoying torturing Matt a little.   
  
"Please! I must know, you HAVE to tell me or I'm not going," Matt threatened.  
  
"Come on, you will like it," Lizzie gave him a puppy dog look.  
  
"Oh fine, let's go, I'm through with lunch," he started to leave.  
  
"Uh Matt, I have to pay for this, lunch isn't free, you know," Lizzie went to pay for their meal.  
  
(In the car moments later)  
  
"Universal Studios Hollywood?" Matt questioned.  
  
"Yep that's where we are going," Lizzie said.  
  
"All right! That's so cool," Matt exclaimed," I'm glad I came!"  
  
Lizzie smiled," Told you so, next time you'll listen to your big sister, right?"  
  
"Yes I will," Matt was smiling too.  
  
(Back in the car, heading to the hotel)  
  
"That was so awesome!" Matt said," I had the best time. Thanks sis."  
  
"You are welcome little brother," Lizzie patted his shoulder.  
  
"I'm glad you brought me on this little trip," Matt thanked her.  
  
"I am just glad that we get along," Lizzie smiled at him.  
  
"Yeah a few years ago, this trip would have never happened," Matt blushed a little," we would have driven eachother insane!"  
  
"No kidding. But I'm glad we're both older now, you're fun to hang out with when you aren't trying to embarass me or do something mean to me every ten seconds," Lizzie laughed at some memories of tricks Matt had played on her in the past.  
  
"I did love to pick on you," Matt smirked," you were such an easy target."  
  
"Oh was I?" Lizzie pretended to be mad," don't make me turn this car around and go back home!"  
  
Both of them burst into laughter at that. Matt said," Man you really sounded like Dad for a minute there!"  
  
"Oh hey, this is it," Lizzie said turning into a hotel parking lot. This is where Mom made reservations for us."  
  
"Actually looks like a pretty nice place," Matt said," at least from the outside. I hope she didn't spend too much money on it."  
  
"It's probably one of those really cheap places that just looks super nice," Lizzie mused as they walked into the lobby to check in.  
  
"Hello and welcome to our hotel," the desk clerk greeted them," how may I help you?"  
  
"I think we have a reservation under McGuire," Lizzie said.  
  
"Just a moment," the clerk punched some information into her computer," Elizabeth and Matthew?"  
  
"Yeah that's us," Lizzie blushed at the use of their full names.  
  
"I expected you to be older," the clerk eyed them suspiciously.  
  
"We won't cause any trouble," Matt said.  
  
"I'm sure you won't," the clerk handed Lizzie a key with instructions on where their room was.  
  
(In the hotel room)  
  
"Oh my goodness! I thought that lady would never let us get up here," Lizzie exclaimed as they entered their room.  
  
"I know, for a second I thought we might have to just go home," Matt said.  
  
"And what was that all about. When you said we wouldn't cause any trouble, she said,'I'm sure you won't'. Did that sound like a threat to you?" Lizzie laughed.  
  
"I think it was," Matt joined in Lizzie's laughter.  
  
"We'll have to make sure to stay away from her!" Lizzie said as she staked out a bed for herself.  
  
"That's a good idea," Matt agreed.  
  
"So, shall we watch a movie?" Lizzie asked," the digital cable is included in the price of the hotel room."  
  
"Well then, I'll pop the popcorn, you pick out a movie for us," Matt said.  
  
The two siblings laid on their own beds with popcorn and sodas on the table between them. They were really having fun. The best part was that their parents weren't there to nag them. At one point, they had both been laughing so loud they were convinced the desk clerk was going to come up and yell at them. She never did though. Before going to bed, they went down to the swimming pool for a late night swim.  
  
The afternoon they headed home. They had really enjoyed their sibling outing. It was about two weeks before school was going to start. Lizzie had to go to school the next morning to register for her classes. She looked forward to seeing the other seniors and finding out how they had spent their summers. She imagined that she, Gordo and Miranda would have one of the more exciting stories to tell.   
  
A/N: Okay, so I've never been to LA. That's why I wasn't very specific about what Lizzie and Matt did there. Sorry for the week between updates. Since graduation last Thursday, I've had things to go do every day, including a trip to Six Flags Elitch Gardens yesterday which was very fun. I should have another update within the next couple days. Reviews are always very much appreciated, thanks to those of you who have been reading and reviewing my story. Go Flames! 


	9. Back To School

Chapter 9: Back to School  
  
(Hillridge High School Parking Lot)  
  
"Well, this it. Time to start our last year at this school," Lizzie said to her two lifelong friends.  
  
"Senior year, this will be awesome," Miranda smiled.  
  
"As long as I have my friends with me it will be amazing," Gordo kissed Lizzie as the bell rang.  
  
"I can't believe we all finally got the same lunch hour," Lizzie exclaimed as they headed to the building," so we're meeting outside Gordo's class right?"  
  
"Yep," Gordo said," it will be nice to have lunch all together this year."  
  
"I know, for three years we haven't been able to do that without one of us ditching," Miranda held the door open for her friends.  
  
"Well, it's off to class now," Lizzie said to her friends as they all split into different directions.  
  
As Lizzie walked down the hall she felt different. She was a senior and it felt great. She was older than all the underclassmen and she knew where she was going, unlike the freshmen who were wandering around lost. She remembered her days as a freshman, she had been so nervous and lost. Now she felt almost as if she owned the place.   
  
A girl bumped into her," Oh I'm so sorry! I can't find room 601. Do you know where it is?"  
  
Lizzie laughed," It's okay, just turn and go out those doors and it's across in the gym building."  
  
"Thank you so much," the girl ran towards the doors Lizzie had pointed out.  
  
(Lunch time- outside Gordo's Class)  
  
"I wonder where Miranda got to?" Lizzie asked as she and Gordo scanned the hallway for their friend.  
  
"With her, who knows? Maybe she ran into a cute guy or something," Gordo laughed.  
  
"She knows we are waiting though. Oh there she is. Miranda, over here!" Lizzie called out.  
  
"Hey guys. I went to find my locker. I already have 3 textbooks," she frowned.  
  
"Got any homework yet?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Nope, I'm lucky," Miranda said smugly.  
  
"I have homework in every class," Gordo now frowned.  
  
"I have math homework," Lizzie said," but that's all so far. And it's review stuff, so it shouldn't take too long. Gotta love those teachers giving out homework on the first day."  
  
Gordo rolled his eyes," Yeah, 'love' isn't the word I would have chosen."  
  
They all made their way out to Gordo's car. They had decided to go to the Quizno's near the school for lunch. Another bonus of being seniors, they didn't have to walk to lunch anymore. They also got to park in the close parking lot, the seniors only lot. Being the oldest kids in the school definitely had it's good points. The seniors were treated much better than the underclassmen.   
  
The three friends enjoyed their sandwiches and drove back to school with 15 minutes to spare. They sat out in the school courtyard for the last few minutes of their lunch period, just enjoying the sun.  
  
"In a few weeks it won't be so hot out here," Miranda said," we better enjoy the sun while it lasts."  
  
"I sort of prefer the cooler weather. The classrooms get way too hot," Gordo made a face.  
  
"Yeah they do. I honestly think they made up the 'airconditioning'. I've never been in a classroom that felt cool," Lizzie said.  
  
"Yes, Lizzie, it's a conspiracy," Miranda laughed.  
  
"I don't know about any conpiracies," a familiar voice said from behind," but it is definitely way too hot in the school."  
  
"Ethan!" Lizzie jumped up to greet her friend.  
  
"Hey Liz, Gor-don, Miranda, how was your summer?" Ethan inquired.  
  
"It was great, we went on a road trip across the country," Miranda explained.  
  
"Cool. I took Kate out on a yacht. She totally got sea sick," Ethan rolled his eyes," but at least she isn't a snob anymore."  
  
"Yeah, I'm glad she changed, I couldn't imagine high school with a mean Kate," Lizzie agreed.  
  
"I always thought that was just a phase she was going through in middle school," Gordo mused.  
  
"I think so too. She did have her nice moments, I think she was really a nice person at heart," Miranda said.  
  
"So are you guys excited to be seniors this year?" Ethan asked.  
  
"Oh yes, only one more year in this place," Lizzie smiled at the thought of being out of high school.  
  
"The last year of high school, supposedly the best year," Gordo put in.  
  
"We'll make this our best year," Miranda decided," that should be our goal this year, to make this the best year of our lives."  
  
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea," Ethan agreed.  
  
"Yeah, let's do it," Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"You in Gordo?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Of course, I'm in whatever Lizzie's in for," he smiled at his girlfriend.  
  
The bell rang just then to send all the kids grumbling back to class. Both Lizzie and Miranda had gym together after lunch. They were taking a racquet sports class. They had decided to try and do their gym classes together at least. Lizzie managed to talk both of their counselors into giving them gym the same period. It paid off because they were both in 5th period racquet sports.  
  
"Hi class, welcome back to school," Mr. Mendleson the gym teacher greeted his class.  
  
"Oh yeah, we're so happy to be here," a guy behind Lizzie and Miranda muttered.  
  
"Well I'm Mr. Mendleson and this is racquet sports, if you are in the wrong class, tell me now," he scanned the faces in front of him.   
  
One girl shyly raised her hand," I think I'm lost."  
  
"Let me see your schedule," Mr. Mendleson told her.  
  
"Here," she blushed as the entire class smirked at her.  
  
"Yes, this is 5th period, you'll be here next hour," Mr. Mendleson said," you need to be back in the main building."  
  
The girl rushed out of the gym looking very embarassed.  
  
"Well, now that's out of the way, let's get started. This quarter we'll be doing tennis and second quarter we'll be doing badminton. Tomorrow you all need to bring your own tennis balls, I suggest you write your name on them and bring a few because we always lose some. Now let me take roll," Mr. Mendleson picked up his clipboard.   
  
Lizzie leaned over to Miranda and whispered," The first day of school is always so boring."  
  
"I know," Miranda rolled her eyes," but tomorrow we'll be playing tennis at least."  
  
The teacher finished up the roll and assigned all the students gym lockers. They had to go to the lockerrooms and make sure the lockers would open. The girls lockerroom was upstairs from the gym they were in. Miranda and Lizzie easily opened their lockers and then helped a few freshmen who couldn't figure out their lockers.   
  
Before they knew it, class was over. Miranda went on to Spanish and Lizzie went to French. Gordo was waiting for them in the foreign language hallway. He was taking French with Lizzie.   
  
"Was gym fun?" he asked.  
  
"Ha, the first day of class always makes me want to sleep," Miranda said.  
  
"Ah, before we know it it'll be the middle of the year," Gordo told her.  
  
"I'll see you after class Miranda," Lizzie pulled Gordo into class with her.   
  
They took their seats on the far side of the classroom. They were the same desks they sat in last year. The kids in French class always sat in the same spot, even after 3 years. Kate and Larry walked over to sit next to them. All the seniors sat on one side of the room and the juniors sat on the other. It wasn't really a conscious separation, they just sat next to their friends. The bell rang and the crazy french teacher entered the room and started talking about what they were going to do this year. It was one of the easiest classes in the school and all the students knew it would be a fun year.   
  
The first day of school ended and the three friends met at their cars.   
  
"You know, we should just take turns driving instead of all of us bringing our cars," Miranda suggested.  
  
"Yeah, we all have the same lunch hour, and we usually go to my house after school," Lizzie agreed.  
  
"Good idea, no point in us all driving here separately," Gordo said.  
  
"So tomorrow, who's driving?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"I will," Miranda volunteered," since it was my idea."  
  
"Okay then, see you tomorrow morning," Gordo got into his car.  
  
"Bye guys," Lizzie shouted as her friends drove away. She was glad to have the first day out of the way. It was always so monotonous listening to teachers reading their rules that were never any different than the year before.  
  
A/N: I think this story will jump ahead in time a lot, it would be pretty boring to go through it day by day! I always appreciate reviews. Expect another update in a couple days. Once again: GO FLAMES! T18 


	10. Powder Puff Begins

Chapter 10: Powder Puff Begins  
  
Quick A/N: In case anyone doesn't know, powder puff is when the girls play football and the boys are the cheerleaders. At most schools, it's a homecoming tradition to have the senior girls play the junior girls.   
  
(Auditorium After School- Mid-September)  
  
"Okay girls! Quiet down, we're ready to start," a teacher yelled over the sea of voices.  
  
It took a few moments for the hundreds of girls to get quiet. They were all excited to be starting the tradition of Powder Puff football. For the seniors, it was most girls' second year playing and the juniors were all in their first year. The girls listened to the teachers talk impatiently. All they were concerned about was ordering their jerseys.   
  
"All right, so we'll see you girls next Monday. Remember seniors, you meet at Hillridge Elementary and juniors you will be meeting at Valley Heights Elementary for your first practice. Now you may get in line to order your jerseys, go seniors!" the teacher finished.  
  
"Yeah SENIORS!" all the senior girls screamed.   
  
"Are you ordering a new jersey?" Lizzie asked Miranda.  
  
"No, I'll just keep the same one," she said," I liked my nick name. Wild Thing, it fits me."  
  
Lizzie laughed," Yes it does, especially on the field. I think I'll keep mine too, Gordo's Girl."  
  
"Good then, let's get out of this place, those lines are insane, look at them pushing," Miranda gestured to the mad pushing girls trying to be first in line.  
  
"Okay, I think Gordo's waiting for us in the parking lot," Lizzie lead her friend out of the crazy auditorium.  
  
They took their time leaving the school, chatting about the previous year's Powder Puff game. They had lost 31-24, keeping it close until near the end. In all of their school's history, no junior team had ever defeated the seniors. Lizzie and Miranda weren't about to let their class be the first senior class to lose. They were both excited for Monday to come, but they were also glad for the weekend.   
  
"Hey girls, you finished already?" Gordo called out to them.  
  
"Yeah, we didn't have to wait in line and pay for jerseys, we're just keeping ours for last year," Lizzie kissed Gordo.  
  
"You should have seen the girls pushing to be first in line though," Miranda said," glad we didn't wait, right Lizzie?"  
  
"You would have thought there was free money or something," Lizzie exclaimed.  
  
"Oh boy, I can imagine, girls get crazy," Gordo laughed.  
  
"What's **that** supposed to mean?" Miranda lightly punched her friend on the arm.   
  
"Nothing, I forgot, shouldn't say those things when I have two girls with me," Gordo smirked.  
  
"You better watch it **mister**," Lizzie warned him.  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" Gordo faked a scared voice.  
  
"You'll just have to wait and see," Lizzie laughed evilly.  
  
"So Gordo, are you going to be a cheerleader this year?" Miranda joked.  
  
"Ha! Are you kidding me? Could you honestly see me as a cheerleader?" Gordo laughed at the thought.  
  
(The Next Monday, Powder Puff Practice)  
  
"Are you sure you want to watch? It's probably going to be boring," Lizzie informed her boyfriend.  
  
"I don't care, if you're doing this, I'm going to be her to support you," Gordo kissed her a couple times.  
  
"Okay, I gotta go, don't want to be late," Lizzie ran to catch up with Miranda.  
  
Gordo sat on a bench in the shade to watch the girls practice. They all sat in a semi-circle and listened to the coaches talk at first. Gordo watched as a kid named Jimmy Martinez walked past with his puppy.   
  
"How lame," Gordo thought," trying to score a girl by bringing his puppy with him. The sad thing is it will probably work."  
  
The girls got up and split into several different groups. Gordo watched as Lizzie and Miranda joined with Kate and a few other girls that they were friends with. They were then sent to the closer half of the field. From watching, he gathered that they were all wanting to be offensive groups. They ran some basic warm-up drills and the practice went by quickly. After practice, Lizzie and Miranda ran over to where Gordo was sitting. He was watching all the girls stopping to fawn over Jimmy's puppy and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Guess what?" Miranda shouted as she ran to Gordo.  
  
"What?" he asked watching his friend who was clearly excited.  
  
"I'm going to be the quarterback!" Miranda exclaimed.  
  
"Yep, she's got a great arm, the coach says so," Lizzie rested her arm on her friend's shoulder.  
  
"That's great," Gordo said.  
  
"We are going to kick butt," Miranda boasted.  
  
"I get to be the wide receiver," Lizzie explained," so I could perhaps catch a touchdown pass and run it in."  
  
"Hope you don't trip," Gordo teased.  
  
"Hey! That's mean," Lizzie was upset.  
  
"I was only joking. So you guys were on defense last year, right?" Gordo quickly changed the subject.  
  
"Yes, we thought we'd switch over and try offense," Miranda told him.  
  
(Saturday Evening-Lizzie's house)  
  
Lizzie checked her makeup in the mirror once more before going downstairs to wait for Gordo to come. He was taking her out to see a movie. She was wearing a cute pink outfit that Miranda had selected for her earlier. She had a white purse with an "L" in fake pink jewels. She sat on the couch and waited for her boyfriend to show up.   
  
Ding dong!  
  
"I'll get it," Lizzie shouted to her parents and brother who were eating dinner.  
  
"Have fun!" Sam called out as his daughter ran out the door.  
  
"You're lucky this time," Lizzie greeted Gordo," they're eating dinner. I hate it when we get stuck talking to them forever."  
  
Gordo laughed," Aw, I love your family. They're a bit crazy, but you know they love you."  
  
"Good point," Lizzie wrapped her arms around Gordo's waist.   
  
"How was your day?" Gordo inquired.  
  
"It was so boring, all I could do was think about tonight, I love you," Lizzie kissed Gordo on the lips.  
  
"I love you too," Gordo started kissing her back.  
  
Lizzie suddenly pulled away," Not here, we don't my family to start watching us!"  
  
"Okay, I figured we'd go out for hamburgers before the movie, does that sound good?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Sounds great," Lizzie got into the passenger seat of Gordo's car.  
  
(Saturday Evening-Movie Theatre)  
  
Lizzie and Gordo found a couple of seats in the back of the theatre. No one else sat near them as everyone else was closer to the front. They had bought some candy and a large pop to share. Once they got settled into their seats, the previews were just finishing. Gordo wrapped his arm around Lizzie's shoulder and she leaned into him. This was a "chick flick" but Gordo didn't mind going with Lizzie.  
  
About halfway through the movie Lizzie whispered," This is incredibly boring isn't it?"   
  
"I wasn't going to say anything, but yeah it is," Gordo whispered back.  
  
"I'm sorry, I thought this movie would be better," Lizzie giggled quietly.  
  
"Ah, it's okay," Gordo gave Lizzie a quick kiss.  
  
She smiled and kissed him back. They quickly scanned to make sure they weren't being watched and then started to make out. Fortunately, it seemed everyone was too engrossed in the movie and all had their eyes forward. They hoped that no one they knew would catch them, even though they were only kissing. Before they knew it, the movie was over and the lights came on.   
  
"Oh my goodness, is my hair okay?" Lizzie was startled that so much time had passed.  
  
"It's a little messy," Gordo told her.  
  
"Good think I have a hairbrush in my purse," Lizzie quickly brushed out her hair and then fixed Gordo's as well.  
  
Gordo stared lovingly into Lizzie's eyes as she brushed his hair.  
  
"What?" she asked catching his gaze.  
  
"Nothing," he tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear," I love you so much Lizzie McGuire."  
  
"I love you too Gordo," she stood up and took his hand.  
  
"How about some ice cream?" he asked.  
  
"Oh that sounds good," Lizzie held Gordo's hand as they exited the theatre.  
  
A/N: Wow, Loopylou1, you must have read my mind. I had intended for this chapter to have some more L/G in it. I hope you and all the other readers enjoy it.   
  
13ittersweet, I agree, it has been boring in spots. I'm trying to work on that and make it a little better. The story is loosely based on my own senior year. Most of it is fictional, so don't worry about that.   
  
Keep the reviews coming. I love them. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Go Flames! (it's a close game, still going right now). T18 


	11. Powder Puff Game

Chapter 11: Powder Puff Game  
  
Miranda spent the night at Lizzie's house the night before the Powder Puff game. That way they could get up and get ready together. They both had their jerseys and customized sweatpants ready. They had spent the previous night painting their nicknames and seniors on their black sweatpants with fabric paint. The paints were blue and a glittery gold for their school colors. The senior jerseys were blue with gold lettering and the juniors were yellow with blue lettering.   
  
Both girls put their hair in pigtail braids and put their headscarves with the school logo on them. Then they put on their black spaghetti strap shirts with "Go Seniors!" stamped on the front. Then they put their jerseys on over it. Miranda had brought her black eye liner to put marks on their faces like real football players did to keep the lights out of their eyes during games. They checked themselves out in the mirror, and once they were satisfied, they grabbed their backpacks and purses to go and wait for their ride with Kate.   
  
Jo McGuire was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She had her digital camera ready to take pictures of the girls together. She had a football for them to pose with. Jo had the girls pose together, first Miranda pretended to through the football since she was the quarterback. Then she had Lizzie tuck the football under her arm and took a picture. The girls then sat with Miranda on the bottom step and Lizzie sitting right above her.   
  
"Okay Mom, we need to leave if we aren't going to be late," Lizzie glanced at the clock.  
  
As if he had heard her say so, Gordo rang the doorbell at that precise moment.  
  
"See, Gordo's here," Miranda answered the door.   
  
"Wait, a couple more pictures, please?" Jo gave her daughter the puppy dog look.  
  
"Okay, just a few," Lizzie sighed with resignation.  
  
"Gordo, you get into the picture with them," Jo instructed.   
  
The three friends posed together and then ran out the door. They got to school just on time. It was a good thing they weren't late because all girls playing Powder Puff had to be in all of their classes or they couldn't play.   
  
During third period, all the Powder Puff players were excused to meet in the large gym for the Pep Assembly. Each team was supposed to do some sort of performance for the school. The seniors had a little dance choreographed that made fun of the juniors several times. Also, they figured if the juniors thought they spent a lot of time working on a dance, they wouldn't be prepared for the game. That wasn't true because they spent all their time on the dance outside of practice. They met at school one day when there was no classes to practice even.   
  
The bell rang and all the students filed into the gym. This was one of the few assemblies that most of the school enjoyed. A lot of the other assemblies were pretty boring, but this one happened during spirit week and a lot of people got into it. The homecoming dance and football game were also coming up at the end of the week. The highlight of the assembly was the male cheerleaders performance. The assembly went quickly and since it was fourth period afterwards, Lizzie and Miranda met Gordo for lunch.   
  
"So are you guys nervous?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Nope. Oh, we'll be back here at the school at 3 o'clock. The head coach ordered pizza for us all and is going to show "Remember The Titans" before the game. He figured it would be our last chance to all hang out and have fun since after the game everyone kinda goes back to their cliques," Miranda explained.  
  
"That's one thing I love about Powder Puff," Lizzie stated," all the girls drop their prejudices against one another and get along. We unite in our need to beat the juniors."  
  
"It's also kind of sad though," Gordo said," you guys get along so well, but then as soon as the game is over, you go back to hating eachother."  
  
"I know, during Powder Puff, we are best friends with girls who normally can't stand us, then the game ends and so does the friendship," Miranda agreed.  
  
"This is high school, you can't honestly expect these people to be mature enough to stay friends outside of this game," Lizzie said bluntly.  
  
"True, these girls are pretty catty the rest of the time," Gordo laughed," they just need something to unite them."  
  
"So, what are we doing for lunch today?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"I don't feel like going anywhere today," Miranda said," how about just going down to the cafeteria to have Subway?"   
  
"Works for me," Lizzie agreed," how about you Gordo?"  
  
"I like Subway, let's get down there before the line gets really long," Gordo started heading to the cafeteria.  
  
Once the trio had their lunches they went out into the courtyard to enjoy the sun and warm weather. Since it was October, the nice weather wasn't guaranteed to last. It never got terribly cold in the wintertime, but it got cool enough or windy enough that you didn't want to eat outside.   
  
The rest of the school day went by quickly. Gordo dropped the girls back off at school at 3 o'clock. Then he promised to be at the stadium in time to see the game. The two girls made their way to where the rest of their team was already eating some pizza. They grabbed themselves a slice apiece and a bottled water and found a seat to watch the movie. All around the girls were talking. Everyone was sitting with their team that they'd be playing with in the game. Hardly anyone was paying attention to the movie. They all liked the movie, but they were too excited about the impending game.   
  
With about an hour before the girls had to be on the bus, most of them found their way into the nearest girls' bathroom. Out of curiousity, Lizzie, Miranda and Kate followed them. They were all painting their faces with black and white face paint. A few girls even had red paint to put fake bloody handprints on themselves.  
  
"Hey, maybe all of us should paint our faces the same," Lizzie suggested.  
  
"That would look cool," Miranda said.  
  
"Yeah, if all of us were up on the offensive line and our faces painted the same," Kate agreed.  
  
"All right, did anyone in our group bring paint?" Miranda asked.  
  
"I didn't think of it," Lizzie told her.  
  
"Oh hey, Belinda, let's get all our girls together," Kate noticed their friend had some paint," then we'll go to a bathroom upstairs so there's less people around."  
  
The girls gathered in a bathroom that was unlocked and took turns painting eachother's faces. They decided to paint their faces all white and do black circles around their eyes. They checked themselves out in the mirror and laughed.  
  
"We look ridiculous," Lizzie laughed.  
  
"Oh well, it's for intimidation," Kate shook her head at her own appearance.   
  
"Hahaha, well at any rate, it looks cool that we all have the same face paint," Miranda concluded.  
  
"Let's go downstairs and see what everyone else looks like," Belinda lead the group out of the bathroom.  
  
Once downstairs, they saw various different styles of face paint. They all made their way back into the movie just in time for the coach to announce," Time to go load the busses!"  
  
The bus ride to the district football stadium was short and the seniors gathered in the home locker room while the juniors went into the visitors locker room. The coaches gave a quick pep talk and then the seniors went out on the field to do their pregame warmups. When the buzzer signaled it was time to return to the locker room for their final pregame talk, the girls all ran to their locker rooms. Everyone sat around with their groups and listened to the various coaches giving their speeches. Then they waited for the announcer to introduce the senior team and they all ran out onto the field and met on the home team sidelines. The bleachers on both sides of the stadium were packed.   
  
Lizzie and Miranda's team was up first as the senior team won the pregame coin toss. The girls had a quick huddle and then the girls into their positions waiting for Kate to hike the ball to Miranda. Once Miranda had the ball, Lizzie ran up the field, easily getting ahead of the unprepared defenders. Miranda stepped back and threw ball to Lizzie, who caught it and ran it to about the 20 yard line before finally getting caught.   
  
Back in the huddle, everyone congratulated her," Good job Liz. That was an awesome opening play."  
  
"Okay," Miranda said taking charge," next play, let's have Sarah here run with it. Girls keep up the awesome blocking in front. Lizzie, run with her and help block. Sarah, make sure your flag isn't going to just fall off."  
  
Everyone did as Miranda directed and they all got on the line. Kate hiked the ball to Miranda who immediately saw the play wouldn't work and ran with the ball herself. She was able to make it to the endzone, where her team met her to celebrate quickly before heading back to the sidelines. The whole team had erupted into cheers when Miranda made the touchdown.   
  
"Awesome opening drive girls," the head coach complimented them.   
  
"Great job, this might be easier than we thought," another girl said to them.  
  
"Yeah, let's just hope our defense keeps up the good work," Miranda said.  
  
"Great move keeping the ball," Lizzie said.  
  
"Hey, wouldn't have been in range if it wasn't for you," Kate patted Lizzie on the back.   
  
By halftime the seniors were up 17-10. They used the break to try and calm themselves down. The coaches made quick, short pep talks and told the girls to keep up the work. Then they let the seniors do their traditional distractions. All the girls got on the adjoining wall to the junior locker room and pounded on it and shouted so it was next to impossible to hear in the junior lockerroom.   
  
Then the girls went back onto the field to continue the game. All of the seniors were having a blast. The juniors had possession of the ball to start the second half. A girl named Michelle on the seniors' defense knew that the quarterback was going to pass the ball. She was really good at reading the plays. When the junior quarterback went back to throw the ball, she ran and intercepted the pass and started running for the endzone. The juniors were caught so offguard that no one was able to stop her in the 30 yards she had to make it to the endzone. The entire senior sideline jumped up and down to celebrate once again.   
  
Lizzie's team had the ball in good position near the end of the fourth quarter. The seniors had a 24-17 lead now and it was pretty close. Miranda decided on another passing play because the defense they were facing was having trouble blocking on passes. She spotted Lizzie in the endzone and threw the ball to her, but it slipped out of her hands before she could get control of it.   
  
In the huddle Miranda spoke," It's okay Lizzie, same play, that should throw them off. I'll try and make a better pass this time. Come on girls, if we do this I think we can win. Break!"  
  
Lizzie made it untouched to the endzone again and Miranda threw the ball right to her. She caught the ball this time and they celebrated wildly. There was only about 2 minutes left in the game and the juniors would have no chance of catching up in that time. The sidelines were going wild when they returned.   
  
"Congratulations girls! Good job Lizzie! Nice pass Miranda! Good blocking!" was heard all around.   
  
The senior defense held the juniors at bay until the final buzzer and the seniors ran to the center of the field in celebration. They got into a circle and began chanting, "Seniors! Seniors! Seniors! Seniors!" Then they lined up to do the traditional handshake with the juniors. All along the line people were saying "good game" and "nice job" and "way to go". Then the juniors cleared the field and the seniors kneeled in a large group to have their picture taken. All the girls smiled and gave the number one sign. The coaches took pictures on all the cameras that were tossed in their direction and then they headed back to the locker room.   
  
"Congratulations seniors!" the headcoach was grinning at his team.  
  
"WOOHOO! Yeah!" the girls all cheered.  
  
Once things quieted down again the head coach spoke," I'm so proud of you girls. You all played so well and you were a classy group. You didn't resort to cheating and you kept your cool when they were almost tied with us. You played a great game and I want you all to know how proud of you I am. Now get out of here and take the bus back to school!"  
  
Back at Hillridge, families and friends were awaiting the senior team. The juniors had beat them back to the school and were mostly gone by the time the seniors arrived again. Lizzie spotted Gordo with her parents and Matt.   
  
"Congratulations Liz!" Gordo ran to meet her.   
  
They embraced, but didn't kiss with Lizzie's family watching," Thanks Gordo, but I'm starving!"  
  
"Lizzie, we are so proud of you," Sam clapped his daughter on the back.   
  
"My baby girl kicks butt at football!" Jo exclaimed, which sent Lizzie into a fit of laughter.  
  
"Good job big sis," Matt congratulated his sister," who would have though old Lizard Breath would be a great football player."  
  
"Hey now, don't be making fun of me," Lizzie smacked Matt playfully," and guys, I'm starving."  
  
"Well, it's only 8:30, so why don't you and Gordo go out to eat," Sam suggested, handing his daughter a twenty dollar bill.   
  
"Thanks Dad," Lizzie kissed her father on the cheek.   
  
"Be home by ten since you have school tomorrow," Jo told her.   
  
Lizzie and Gordo found Miranda who was talking to her parents.  
  
"Hey Randa, we're gonna go out to eat, want to come with?" Lizzie invited.   
  
"All right, is that okay with you folks?" she asked her parents.   
  
"Sure dear, go have fun, but don't stay out too late," her father told her.   
  
Her mother handed her some cash for dinner and the three headed for Gordo's car. They decided on a hamburger and headed for the 50s diner a few blocks from the school. Once inside, Lizzie and Miranda realized embarassingly that their faces were still painted when everyone stared at them. Lizzie dragged her best friend to the bathroom to clean up while Gordo got a table for them.  
  
"Much better," Gordo said when they returned.  
  
"We still have our jerseys on, but it's better than our faces being painted," Lizzie laughed.  
  
"You kids must be from the high school," a waitress said as she got ready to take their order.  
  
"Yep," Miranda said, then sarcastically," however could you tell?"  
  
The waitress laughed then said," So what'll it be this evening kids?"  
  
A/N: Like I said, this story will jump forward in time a bit, I hope you don't mind. The next chapter should be about the Homecoming Dance. I plan to write it soon, within a couple days at most. As always, thanks for reviews, they are never taken for granted. Please let me know what you think of my latest chapter. T18 


	12. Homecoming

Chapter 12: Homecoming  
  
(Miranda's House- pre-dance)  
  
"Thanks again for volunteering to do our hair Mrs. Sanchez," Lizzie thanked Miranda's mother for the hundredth time.  
  
"You know it's no big deal," Mrs. Sanchez smiled," I love doing your hair Lizzie, it's beautiful."  
  
"Thank you!" Lizzie grinned as Mrs. Sanchez worked on her daughter's hair.  
  
Miranda was getting her hair curled in to princess curls. She was going to leave her hair down, which was a rarity for her. She almost always had swept up into some updo or another. Lizzie, on the other hand, was getting her hair put up into a bun. She had some hair jewels that Mrs. Sanchez placed throughout her hair. She was wearing a simple pink full length dress. Miranda had an orange dress with a ruffled skirt that went down to about her knees. Both girls had their nails painted to match their dresses. Lizzie had pink high heels to go with her ensemble and Miranda had flat orange sandals for hers.   
  
As they got dressed and checked themselves out in the mirror, Miranda asked," Lizzie, how on earth can you dance in those shoes?"   
  
"I have practice," Lizzie laughed," LOTS of practice."  
  
"Well I applaud you because I could never dance in shoes like that," Miranda stared at Lizzie's shoes.   
  
"Girls! I believe your dates are here," Mr. Sanchez called to the girls.   
  
Gordo and Miranda's date, Kyle, had rented a limousine for the night. Kyle was a friend of Miranda's since her freshman year and they had decided to go to the dance as friends. With a last check of their makeup, the girls went to meet their dates. Both had a corsage for his date to match the dress they were wearing.   
  
"Oh, you guys are so cute!" Mrs. Sanchez cooed," I have to take lots of pictures."  
  
"Yeah or my mom will throw a fit!" Lizzie rolled her eyes. Jo had nearly broke down in tears when Lizzie told her Miranda's mom was going to help them get dressed for the dance.   
  
Once they were sure that there was plenty of pictures, the kids headed out to dinner. They were eating at a fancy restaurant that none of them had ever been to before. It was very expensive and their food wasn't all that great. All of them decided they would never eat dinner there again. The girls had forced the boys into letting them pay for half of dinner. That was all the more they were allowed to pay, despite the very expensive meal and the limousine. The driver took them to the school, where they always held the homecoming dance.   
  
Lots of students were heading into the school gym. Several of them turned and raised their eyebrows at the people arriving in limousines. It was mostly seniors as the younger students couldn't afford to rent limousines without sharing with 10 other couples. Gordo and Kyle escorted their respective dates out of the car and lead them into the gym. The gym was decorated in the Hollywood theme with a red carpet leading couples into the gym and gold stars all over the place along with star-shaped balloons. There were tables set up on the far side of the gym with candy centerpieces and there was a refreshment table on the back wall. The center was lit up as the dance floor. The girls found a table where they could leave their purses and then followed their dates onto the dance floor.   
  
They danced with a circle of friends for a while and then separated when a slow song came on.   
  
"Having fun?" Gordo asked Lizzie.  
  
"Yes, are you? I mean I know you don't like these big social events so much," Lizzie said.  
  
"I don't mind them, not when I'm with you," Gordo leaned forward to kiss Lizzie.   
  
"Oh David, you are so sweet," Lizzie looked lovingly into her boyfriend's eyes," I have never met anyone like you before in my life."  
  
"You're one-of-a-kind too Lizzie. I am so glad that we found eachother, I couldn't imagine my life if I had never known you," Gordo kissed Lizzie again.   
  
"I love you David Gordon," Lizzie whispered into his ear.   
  
"I love you too Lizzie McGuire," Gordo smiled at her beauty.  
  
At that moment, Ethan Craft swept by (he had learned to really dance in high school) and asked if he could have a dance with Lizzie. Gordo gave Lizzie a questioning look and she nodded her head yes. She danced with Ethan while his date, Kate danced with Gordo. Both Ethan and Kate were cool people now. Of course if you asked Lizzie in 8th grade she would have never thought she'd befriend Kate again. No one at her school would have believed that Ethan would be smart. People changed though and they both changed for the better. She enjoyed her short dance with Ethan before going to find Gordo again.  
  
"I'm thirsty now, how about you?" Lizzie asked.   
  
"Yeah, I could go for some punch," Gordo agreed.   
  
As they made their way to the refreshment table, they spotted Miranda and Kyle already there.   
  
"Hey Randa," Lizzie called out to her friend.  
  
"Lizzie, how's it going so far?" she asked.  
  
"It's going great, how about you two?" Lizzie asked the couple.  
  
"Fine, we're having fun," Kyle said.  
  
"Yeah, it's kind of boring though," Miranda admitted.   
  
"I think so too," Gordo put in.  
  
"Well I'm glad that it's not just me, but since I'm in the running for Homecoming Queen, we should stay at least until they crown the royalty," Lizzie explained.  
  
"True, I guess we stay until then. We could go see a movie or something," Miranda suggested," we do have the limo all night."  
  
"Yeah, after the crowing, we'll get out of here," Kyle said.  
  
"Fine by me," Gordo said," is that okay with you, Liz?"  
  
"Yep. I think they should be doing it soon too," Lizzie scanned the crowd for the student council president to ask her," I'll be right back."  
  
"Okay," the three friends said in unison as she walked across the gym.   
  
(Hillridge High Gym-20 minutes later)  
  
"And the Homecoming Queen is..........Kate Saunders!" the student council president announced.   
  
The crowd cheered and applauded as Kate made her way to join Ethan on the stage.   
  
"Told you it was a popularity contest," Gordo muttered to Lizzie.  
  
"You're saying I'm not popular?" Lizzie pretended to be hurt.  
  
"Well, I uh, um. No. It's just," he stammered.  
  
"I'm joking," Lizzie elbowed him.  
  
"You guys ready to blow this joint?" Kyle asked.  
  
"Yep," Lizzie and Miranda said at the same time.  
  
(Riding in the limo)  
  
"Hey! I have an idea," Lizzie exclaimed suddenly.  
  
"Did you hurt yourself?" Gordo teased.  
  
Lizzie glared at him," No. Let's stop to get ice cream, then we can just cruise around."  
  
"That's not a bad idea," Miranda said.  
  
"Actually it's a pretty good idea, McGuire," Kyle agreed.  
  
"Okay then, I'll let the driver know of our plans," Lizzie picked up the phone," Frank? We want to get ice cream....yeah, you could get some too...laughs okay...thanks....then we'll just ride around for a while....wherever."  
  
A/N: I was writing this really late at night, so please forgive any typos or things that don't make sense. Also, sorry if it's kind of boring. I have been sick, my kidney was...well not sure, but it was causing lots of pain. So I'm all better and that's why I haven't updated for a while. I think I should stop saying I'll write the next day because I never do...lol, I'm bad about that. Thanks for reading and reviewing. 


	13. School Play

Chapter 13: School Play  
  
Disclaimer: I mentioned Subway in an earlier chapter and I don't own that, nor do I own "The Wizard of OZ" or the game Twister which are mentioned in this chapter.  
  
When auditions for the school play rolled around Miranda convinced Lizzie to audition for the play with her. The school was going to be putting on a production of "The Wizard of OZ". Miranda was auditioning for the lead, she had a lot of experience in the school's plays. Lizzie was just auditioning for whatever role she could get. The drama teacher, Miss Brown, was able to get the nearest elementary school to cooperate so that their students could play the munchkins. The rest of the parts would be going to the high school students. Gordo, who felt the need to take part in the play somehow, volunteered to be the official cameraman. He could film auditions, practices and the play to make a video for the school to sell.   
  
Two days after auditions, all the students were called back to hear who would be playing which parts.  
  
(Hillridge Auditorium-After School on a Friday)  
  
"All right, this could take a while so I'm just going to read the part followed by who will play it," Miss Brown said," please stay until the end, I have an announcement to make after:  
  
Dorothy - Miranda Sanchez  
  
Aunt Em - Veronica Salmon  
  
Uncle Henry - Patrick O'Neal  
  
Good Witch of the North - Elizabeth McGuire  
  
Wicked Witch of the West - Kate Saunders  
  
Scare Crow/Farm Hand - Ethan Kraft  
  
Tin Man/ Farm Hand - Andrew Davids  
  
Cowardly Lion/Farm Hand - Tim Martinez  
  
Wizard/Travelling Fortune Teller - Danny Kesler  
  
Various Characters in OZ- Samantha Krudwig, Darby Greene, Carissa Hendrickson, Fred Lee, David Campbell, Lucina Gomez, and Charles Allen  
  
So that's the main parts, the extras for OZ will be playing munchkins, but doing the speaking lines so the younger kids don't have extra lines to learn. For the rest of you who didn't get a part, you are welcome to pick someone to be an understudy for or to help us out with building the set and making costumes. That's all for today, practices start next Monday. Have a nice weekend." (A/N: If I forgot any major parts in the play, please forgive me, it's been a while since I've seen the Wizard of OZ)  
  
"Miranda, congrats on getting the lead," Lizzie hugged her best friend.  
  
"Thanks, and hey I'm glad you got a part too. This will be great with my friends working with me. We can all spend lots of time together," Miranda said, excitedly.   
  
"Yeah, this will be fun," Gordo agreed, putting his camera down," I get to film, you guys get to be in a play, we will have lots of time to hang out after school together."  
  
"Yo Sanchez, congrats on getting Dorothy," Ethan gave her a high five.  
  
"Thanks, you got a pretty big part too," Miranda said.  
  
"Yeah, I get to play the scarecrow. I hope I don't have to wear straw in my costume though, that might be itchy," he ran off to find Miss Brown and ask her about his concern.  
  
Kate spotted the three and walked over to them," Hey girls, good job on landing your parts."  
  
Lizzie laughed," Your role is kind of fitting Kate."  
  
"Ha ha, I'm not like that anymore," Kate glared at Lizzie.  
  
"Oh I'm just teasing you," Lizzie said," it's pretty funny that you're a witch though."  
  
"Yeah, you have to admit that's pretty coincidental," Miranda ducked as Kate tried to smack her.  
  
"You guys laugh it up," Kate said.  
  
"Come on Saunders, you know it's funny," Gordo said.   
  
Kate threw head back and laughed," Come on you guys! I'm not really mad. You know I'm cool now."  
  
"You're fun to pick on though," Lizzie smiled.  
  
"Of course I am, it's because I'm so popular," Kate flipped her hair over her shoulder.   
  
"Okay, you are full of it," Miranda told Kate.  
  
"It's been great guys, but I have to be off," Kate said, spotting Ethan across the auditorium.  
  
"Bye Kate," Miranda called to her as she left.  
  
"See you Monday," Lizzie said.  
  
"Later guys," Kate returned.  
  
(Dress Rehearsal- Middle of December)  
  
Gordo sat several rows back in the auditorium focusing in on the stage with his camera as the Munchkins sang their "Welcome to Munchkin Land Song". He laughed as the little kids danced around in their costumes. They were pretty funny looking, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. He focused in on a little blonde girl for a moment, as she swung her arms wildly in the air.  
  
"Oh no," he mumbled.  
  
The little girl hit the scenery behind her and it toppled over backwards.   
  
"Cut!" Miss Brown shouted.  
  
The young blonde began to cry," It was an accident. I didn't mean to."  
  
Miss Brown hung her head and muttered," We'll never get this thing right in time for opening night."  
  
Lizzie saw the girl wailing and ran to her. Gordo zoomed in on them as Lizzie kneeled to the girl's height.  
  
"Sweetie, it's okay," Lizzie patted her back," we know you didn't mean to. It was an accident."   
  
"I'm so sorry," the girl hiccuped.  
  
"What's your name?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"My name's Carly," the girl said quietly.  
  
"Well Carly, look, the set piece is okay," Lizzie gestured to the scenery which was being placed back into it's spot on the stage," see, you didn't hurt it."  
  
"Okay," Carly sniffled," it was an accident."  
  
"I know, let's get you to the bathroom so you can dry your tears," Lizzie lead the young girl off the stage.  
  
"Wow," Gordo said," Lizzie's great with kids."  
  
He followed Lizzie and Carly out to the hallway. He handed his camera off to the guy who was supposed to be his assistant. Lizzie was in the hallway as the little girl got a drink of water. She had some Kleenex and was wiping the girl's face off.   
  
"All better," Lizzie patted her head.  
  
"Thanks, Miss um..." the girl looked at her questioningly.  
  
"Lizzie, my name's Lizzie," she said.  
  
"Thank you Lizzie," Carly smiled.  
  
"It was no big deal. I used to be really clumsy myself," Lizzie told her.  
  
"Used to be?" Gordo asked causing Lizzie to jump.  
  
"Okay, so I still am," she blushed lightly.   
  
"That's what I thought," Gordo said," I was watching you two on the stage. Carly, that's your name right? You should try not to swing your arms so much when you're dancing. That's how you knocked the set piece over."  
  
"I'll try not to next time. And I'll stand farther away from it," she said.  
  
Miss Brown came out to check on the missing actors," Carly, are you ready to try that scene again?"   
  
"Yes Miss Brown," she said obediently.  
  
"Okay. McGuire, nice work," Miss Brown said leading the child back to the stage," hurry up out here."  
  
"I'll be right there," Lizzie said, sensing Gordo wanted her for a minute.  
  
Once Miss Brown was gone Gordo said," Lizzie, I was watching you handle that little girl. You were amazing. I never knew you were so good with kids."  
  
"I don't know, she just looked really upset, so I thought someone had better calm her down," Lizzie explained.  
  
"Well you are great with kids," Gordo kissed her.  
  
"Okay, I better get going, I'm in this scene," Lizzie gave Gordo a loving look as she returned to the stage.  
  
(Backstage-after final night of play)  
  
"Good work people! I'm so proud of your work, this all went amazingly well," Miss Brown smiled at her cast," give yourselves all a hand."  
  
Everyone erupted into applause. Several of the cast had flowers from their parents or friends. Everyone was smiling and proud of their performances which went off without a hitch.   
  
"Now I hate to break up all the fun," Miss Brown started again," but I think we can all pitch in and clean up the stage so that we can get to that cast party later!"  
  
The entire cast and crew rushed around cleaning up the set and putting things away. Kate Saunders was hosting a party for all the cast and crew members after the cleanup. The little kids were invited as well for a couple of hours, since it was a Saturday night. Then all the big kids would be able to stay longer with all of the adults gone. Everyone wanted to hurry up and get to Kate's house.   
  
(at Kate's House, 30 minutes later)  
  
"Okay," Kate yelled to get everyone's attention," would you rather play pin the tail on the donkey or Twister?"  
  
About half the kids shouted Twister, while the other half shouted pin the tail on the donkey. Lizzie decided to improvise. She would supervise the game of Twister while Kate ran the game of pin the tail on the donkey. All of the kids were having so much fun, but it was nearly time for them to go home, so Kate had to get out the cakes to serve to them. Of course the cake ended up being pretty messy, but Kate's mom had the foresight to line the floor with plastic and remove the expensive furniture when she head about the little kids.  
  
The little kids were sad to go. They'd had so much fun hanging out with high school students. They were all cool at their school for hanging out with older kids. Their parents came to pick them up right on time. Then the big kids got to have their party.  
  
"Kate, it was so sweet of you to have a party with the elementary kids too," Ethan said.  
  
"Yeah, they loved it," Lizzie agreed.  
  
"I figured they were part of the cast too," Kate smiled.  
  
Gordo walked up and put his hands over Lizzie's eyes," Guess who? And don't you two say anything."  
  
"Gee let me guess, is it David Gordon?" Lizzie threw his arms back and spun around to face him," did you honestly think you could fool me?"  
  
"Not really. Want to dance?" he asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, we need music," Kate ran to her fancy stereo and put in some dance music.  
  
The high schoolers started to dance until Kate slipped on a glob of frosting that someone had dropped on the floor. She fell flat on back and everyone got silent for a minute.  
  
"Hey Kate, are you okay?" Miranda called out.  
  
Kate's eyes were huge for a moment, then she started to laugh," I'm fine."  
  
A collective sigh of relief went out and everyone returned to dancing as Ethan helped Kate clean the frosting off the floor. Everyone had a good time and most of them went home around midnight. Some of Kate's closer friends were invited to stay the night. Kate's parents had gone to stay at a hotel for the night after the elementary kids left. The remaining people decided to watch the DVDs Kate had rented. Some of them went off somewhere to make out. 


	14. Christmas Surprise

Chapter 14: Christmas Surprise  
Quick A/N: This chapter is a longer one, enjoy!

(The McGuire House-First Day of Christmas Break)  
  
"Oh Lizzie, do you remember where I put the star for the top of the tree?" Jo McGuire yelled out to her daughter.  
  
"I think you put it in the box with the fake tree Mom," Lizzie shouted back.  
  
It was exactly 5 days before Christmas and the McGuire family was getting ready to put up their decorations. Jo and Lizzie handled the tree while Sam and Matt decorated the outside of the house and the yard. They had a plastic Christmas tree that was older than Lizzie, but still looked pretty good. It had tiny bits of tinsel stuck in the fake needles, but was otherwise naked.   
  
"I found it!" Jo called out.  
  
"Okay," Lizzie yelled back.  
  
"Ready to start?" Jo asked as she returned to the living room where Lizzie was fluffing up the branches.   
  
"Yep. The tree's all ready to go," Lizzie bent the last branch into place.   
  
"All right, I'll start by string the lights around the tree and then you can follow behind me with the garland," Jo instructed.   
  
Lizzie looked around for the white garland that her mother was fond of. She finally spotted it under the wreath that they traditionally placed on the front door. There was a small box next to it marked "Lizzie's first ornament". Curiousity got the best of Lizzie and she opened the box to find newspaper. She carefully unwrapped the ornament to find a porcelain rocking horse with a baby picture of herself in the center.  
  
"Oh how cute," she said under her breath. She didn't remember seeing it on the tree in years past and figured it had been lost for a while.  
  
"Um Lizzie?" Jo sounded sheepish," could you help me out."  
  
Lizzie placed the ornament carefully back into the box," Okay Mom."  
  
She stood up and couldn't see her mother for a few seconds. Then she discovered that Jo was behind the tree. She had started to string the lights around the upper branches, but her hair was all tangled in another branch. She was on her tippy toes, lights dangled all over her and her hair was stuck to the tree. Lizzie couldn't help but laugh at her mother.  
  
"Don't laugh at me Elizabeth McGuire!" Jo scolded.  
  
"I can't help it Mom, how did you manage this one?" Lizzie giggled at her mother's predicament.   
  
"I don't know," Jo started to laugh too.  
  
Lizzie got to work trying free her mother's hair from the tree," Geez Mom, you really got yourself tangled up here."  
  
"I know Liz, could you just free me, this is awkward and it hurts because you're pulling my hair," Jo was still laughing a little bit.  
  
"Sorry Mom, it's the only way to get your hair out," Lizzie finally pulled the last of her hair off the fake tree.  
  
Jo had tears in her eyes from her hair being pulled so much," Boy that hurt."  
  
"Aw Mom, you're crying," Lizzie said.  
  
"I couldn't help it, when some of hair was being pulled it made me tear up, could you go get me a tissue?" Jo asked her daughter.  
  
"Sure thing Mom," Lizzie said and walked to the bathroom to find a tissue for her mother.  
  
(Outside-same time)  
  
"Matt, how did these lights get so tangled up?" Sam asked his son.  
  
"I don't know Dad, I thought you rolled them up," Matt said accusingly.  
  
"Oh right," Sam remembered.  
  
"Well you keep working on those, I'll go find the ladder in the back shed," Matt walked off.  
  
"I'm not rolling up the lights this year," Sam muttered as he pulled another loop out of the lights.  
  
Sam continued working the knots out of the set of lights, trying not to break any of the bulbs. He finally had them all straightened out and set them across the yard so they wouldn't tangle again. Then he reached into the box of outdoor decorations to discover the other set of lights was just as tangled. He sighed and began to work the knots out of the second set too. He began to wonder what happened to Matt when he reappeared as if he'd read his father's mind.  
  
"Hey son, what took you so long?" Sam asked.  
  
"This thing was buried in the back of the shed," Matt explained," I had a bit of digging to do to get it out."  
  
"Okay, well, will you work on untangling these lights so I can get started on the roof?" Sam told Matt more than asked him.  
  
"Sure thing dad," Matt worked on the lightset, untangling it quickly.  
  
"How did you do that?" Sam was amazed at how fast Matt finished his job.  
  
"It's easy Dad," Matt grinned up at his father who was on the roof.  
  
"Well, bring those on up here with you," Sam instructed.  
  
Matt climbed up the ladder and brought the staple gun, knowing his dad forgot it. He almost slipped and shot a staple into his foot at the top, but managed to pull his foot away at the last second. He hated how clumsiness ran in his family.   
  
"Oh Matt, could you go down and get the staple gun?" Sam asked as soon as Matt was on the roof.   
  
"One step ahead of you," Matt handed the gun to his dad.   
  
"Good work son," Sam took the staple gun and started stapling the lights into place.   
  
"I wonder how Mom and Lizzie are doing?" Matt wondered aloud.  
  
"They're fine. Why? Would you rather be inside? Matt, are you afraid of heights?" Sam narrowly missed stapling his finger, but didn't realize.  
  
"Okay Dad, first, watch your fingers there," Matt instructed," and second, I am not afraid of heights. I just wondered how they were doing."  
  
"Watch my what?" Sam asked as he shot 3 staples into his hand," OUCH!"  
  
"Oh my goodness. Dad, are you okay?" Matt shouted.  
  
"Son of a-" Sam started.  
  
Matt's jaw dropped as he'd never heard his father cuss before," Should I go get Mom?"  
  
"Yes please," Sam sucked air in through his teeth. His hand really hurt and as he inspected the bloody circles forming around the staples, he knew this would be a trip to the emergency room.   
  
"Sam McGuire! What did you do?" Jo shouted as she ran out of the house.  
  
"I stapled my hand honey," Sam yelled back embarassed," three times."  
  
"Three times! Good grief Sam! Can you climb down here with one hand? I'll steady the ladder," Jo offered.   
  
"I think I can do it," Sam lowered himself down the ladder and showed his hand to his waiting wife.  
  
"Oh my, those things are in there deep, those are the big staples too, aren't they?" Jo inquired.  
  
"Yes honey," Sam lowered his head.  
  
"Let's get you to the hospital," Jo barked out orders," Matt go ahead and put all this stuff back in the shed, you and Lizzie finish inside and we'll worry about this later. You do NOT go on the roof while we're out, okay?"  
  
"Yes Mom," Matt picked up the lights and replaced them into the box.   
  
Jo and Sam sped off to the hospital while Lizzie helped Matt gather up the decorations. They filled the box and Lizzie carried it to the back while Matt carried the ladder. Then they went back inside to finish decorating the Christmas tree. A few minutes after they got started the doorbell rang.   
  
"Must be Miranda," Lizzie said and answered the door.  
  
"Hey Liz," Miranda greeted her," what are you doing?"   
  
"Matt and I are decorating the Christmas tree," Lizzie told her.  
  
"I thought that was for you and your Mom. Where are your parents?" Miranda noticed they weren't around.  
  
"Dad and I were on the roof and he shot 3 staples into his hand with a staple gun," Matt explained.  
  
"Wow, I hope he's okay," Miranda stifled a laugh.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, but he has to have the staples removed," Lizzie said.  
  
"Well, do you guys need help?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Sure, we're just finishing up with the tree," Lizzie gestured to the half decorated tree in the living room.  
  
"Oh, I brought Christmas presents for you guys," Miranda pulled four wrapped packages out of her bag.   
  
"Aw, thanks Miranda," Lizzie took the gifts and put them under the tree.  
  
The three had the tree finished in a half hour and then they started to put the rest of the decorations up. Lizzie hung their wreath on the front door while Matt and Miranda placed the silver bells over the kitchen doorway. Then all three of them found the candy canes and each ate one while they put them on the tree.  
  
(McGuire House-Christmas Day)  
  
"How's your hand feeling, Dad?" Matt asked.  
  
"It's better," Sam said examining the bandages on his hands.   
  
"Okay, those were the best sticky buns," Lizzie complimented her mother.   
  
"Thanks Lizzie, that recipe will be yours one day," Jo said," I got it from my mother who got it from her mother."  
  
"Cool, a family recipe," Lizzie said.  
  
"Well, who's ready to open presents?" Sam McGuire asked.  
  
"I am!" Matt exclaimed.  
  
"Man, you are still like a little kid on Christmas Day," Lizzie laughed at her brother.  
  
"You can't tell me you're not at all excited," Matt gave Lizzie a look.  
  
"Okay so I am excited too!" Lizzie flashed a huge grin.  
  
"Let's get to it," Jo herded her family to the Christmas tree.  
  
Jo took charge of the presents, trying to hand one out to everyone to open at the same time. Before long, everyone was surrounded by new clothes, DVDs, CDs and all sorts of new stuff. With one gift left for each person, the doorbell rang.   
  
"I'll get it," Lizzie ran to the door in her Christmas pajamas ( a white silky outfit with little Santa Claus' all over it).  
  
"Merry Christmas McGuires," Gordo announced as he entered the house with gifts.   
  
"Hey Gordo," Sam said.  
  
"How are your parents?" Jo asked.  
  
"Hey I didn't know you celebrated Christmas," Matt said, taking his present.  
  
"I don't, really, but you guys do so I figured I could bring you presents," Gordo smiled and kissed Lizzie.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Gordo," Sam and Jo said as he handed them gifts too.  
  
"You are so sweet," Lizzie whispered in his ear as they hugged.  
  
"I have known you guys for so long, I figured I should give you all gifts," Gordo explained.  
  
"That's awesome," Matt said as he opened his gift.   
  
Lizzie ran to her bedroom to get Gordo his present. She knew he was Jewish, but they exchanged gifts every year anyway. Besides, he got presents for Hanakkuh too. She had bought a new digital video camera for him. It was expensive, but she loved Gordo, so anything wasn't too expensive for him. She ran back down the stairs and handed the wrapped box to Gordo. He opened it and was very happy with it.  
  
"Okay Lizzie, for you, I have a different kind of present. I can't give it to you right now, but tomorrow night, I'll come pick you up and we'll go out for dinner. You'll get your present then," Gordo smiled mysteriously.  
  
(Hilltop Hillridge Restaurant-Night After Christmas)  
  
Gordo took a huge breath, he was very nervous," Lizzie, what I'm about to say is going to be very important, so I want you to listen carefully."  
  
"All right Gordo," Lizzie said suspiciously.  
  
"Lizzie, I've known you for most of my life. I never knew how much I liked you until middle school. When we went to Rome and kissed and started dating years ago, I knew that I truly loved you. I've never been happier in my life. I wouldn't want to imagine life without you Lizzie," Gordo got up and kneeled in front of Lizzie whose eyes got huge," I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I know we are young, but I love you. So Elizabeth Brooke McGuire, will you marry me?"  
  
Lizzie was very shocked and couldn't speak for a moment. Then she managed to squeak out a yes as Gordo slipped a beautiful diamond ring on her finger.   
  
"Merry Christmas," he said and kissed her hand.   
  
Lizzie leapt forward to embrace Gordo. She kissed him numerous times. Then she realized that they were sitting on the floor in the middle of a fancy restaurant and they got back up to sit at their table.  
  
"Gordo, I don't know what to say," Lizzie whispered.  
  
"Just say you love me," Gordo looked deeply into her eyes.  
  
"I love you David Gordon!" Lizzie exclaimed," but what about our parents? We're only 18, they won't let us get married."  
  
"Don't worry, I already talked to them. We're only engaged, we won't get married until at least after we graduate from high school. I just loved you so much, I want everyone to know you are mine," Gordo flashed his grin at his new phiancée.  
  
"Oh Gordo, I'd never want to be with anyone else. I used to have a crush on you in third and fourth grade. Then in middle school, it came back and I was so happy when we started to date," Lizzie kissed Gordo passionately.  
  
"I know it's unusual to be engaged at 18, but I love you so much I couldn't wait. Especially with the possibility of splitting up this next year to go to college," he explained.  
  
"I don't care, I'm going wherever you go," Lizzie proclaimed.  
  
"So do you like the ring?" he asked.  
  
"Yes it's perfectly beautiful Gordo," Lizzie admired the ring on her finger.  
  
"It used to be my grandma's. When she died, she made it clear that she wanted me to have it for whoever I decided to marry," Gordo smiled," and I knew it would be you."  
  
"I don't think I can tell you enough times how much I love you!" Lizzie said.  
  
"I love you too," Gordo kissed Lizzie once more," what do you want for dessert?"  
  
A/N: It felt very awkward writing a Christmas chapter in June. I hope you like this latest chapter. Please continue reviewing, reviews always make me happy!


	15. Halfway

Chapter 15: Halfway  
  
(First day of School after Christmas Break)  
  
"Oh my goodness, Lizzie McGuire, let me see your hand," Miranda Sanchez hadn't yet seen her best friend's engagement ring.  
  
Lizzie proudly displayed the elegeant ring. It had a gold band with a diamond in the center. Flanking the main diamond was two smaller rubies on each side. Then on the very outside were two more tiny diamonds. The jewels descended in size, and the ring was stunning, in Lizzie's opinion anyway.   
  
"It used to be Gordo's grandmother's ring," Lizzie explained.  
  
"It's beautiful!" Miranda exclaimed," I'm so jealous Liz, I don't even have a boyfriend."  
  
"Don't worry, someone will come along for you," Lizzie comforted her single friend," besides, we won't get married for a while anyway. Not until at least after high school."  
  
"Yeah, well congratulations," Miranda hugged Lizzie.   
  
"Thanks, I bet this news travels around the school fast. I'm a little worried about what people will say, but if I learned anything from Gordo, it's not to worry so much about what other people think about me," Lizzie said.   
  
"That's pretty wise advice," Miranda raised her eyebrows. She was continually amazed at how smart beyond his years Gordo was. She could see why Lizzie loved him so much. He was kind of cute, and very smart. He was also so giving and caring. Lizzie was one lucky girl.  
  
(Later in class)  
  
"Whoa Lizzie," Kate breathed," that ring is beautiful. And I thought it was only a rumor that you got engaged. Congrats!"  
  
"Thanks Kate," Lizzie smiled politely. She was a little tired of hearing people say that. Half the people were really nice and complimetary, the other half were rude and said nasty things about how they were "too young" to be so serious about eachother. She tried to ignore the latter half, how should they know what was too serious for her?  
  
"So have you guys thought at all about a date?" Kate questioned.  
  
"Um no. We are waiting until after we both graduate and figure out what we are going to do this summer," Lizzie explained.   
  
"Oh, that's probably a good idea," Kate seemed disappointed.   
  
"We are only 18, we should probably wait until we're older and able to support ourselves, probably during or after college," Lizzie went on.   
  
"That's true, you really thought it through didn't you?" Kate asked.  
  
"Yes we did. It's just that we are so in love that we wanted to know that we are going to get married some day," Lizzie told her.  
  
"Well that's good. Be sure and let me know if you ever set a date," Kate said.  
  
(Lunchtime-Senior Hangout)  
  
"Man I can't believe that the school year is almost half over," Lizzie said.  
  
"I know, it has gone by so fast," Ethan agreed.  
  
"Before we know it we'll be at graduation wondering where all the time went," Miranda added.  
  
"Well, we're all having fun right?" Samantha Cross, a friend asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, I'm loving my senior year," Lizzie smiled.  
  
"High school is supposed to be the time of your life," Gordo mused," I think it is, so far anyway."  
  
"I am having a blast," Ethan put in.  
  
Kate started," This has been the best year, especially with all my friends to hang out with. I just can't believe that in a few short months we'll all be splitting up and heading off in different directions. Who knows where any of us will end?"  
  
Everyone took a moment to think about that. They were really almost on their own, it was nearly time to be out in the real world. They would no longer all be coming to the same school, hanging out at the same places on the weekend. They wouldn't even be living in the same town anymore. No one put too much thought to it at the moment though because that was months away. They'd worry about it later, but for the time being they wanted to have fun and enjoy the rest of their time together.   
  
"So the next big break from school is Spring Break," Ethan stated out of the blue.  
  
"Ah man, that's a long way off. We just got back from Christmas Break," Samantha rolled her eyes.  
  
"I know, but I was wondering what everyone plans to do for spring break," Ethan said defensively.  
  
"I don't think any of us have planned that far ahead yet," Lizzie laughed," that's a few more months."  
  
"Well, if no one has plans yet," Kate started," my parents are getting this new boat pretty soon. I bet I could get them to let a group of us go out on a trip for spring break."  
  
"That would be so cool," Miranda's eyes lit up.  
  
"Really?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure they'd let us all go, they know you," Kate gestured to Lizzie, Miranda, Gordo and Ethan," so they wouldn't have a problem."  
  
"That actually sounds like it would be pretty nice," Gordo smiled at the thought of a week on the ocean.  
  
"Well if everyone's in, I'll be sure and talk to them. Once I get them convinced, I'll tell you all so you can clear it with your folks," Kate was already making plans.  
  
The bell rang sending everyone in their different directions. Thoughts of spring break on a boat, spending time on a beach somewhere was very enticing. It was hard enough to concentrate on school after just returning from the winter break, but thinking of the trip that was 4 months away made it even harder to think about schoolwork.   
  
(Senior hangout-two weeks later)  
  
"Okay you guys, my parents said yes!" Kate announced excitedly.   
  
"All right," Ethan pumped his fist in the air.   
  
"A boat trip, that's pretty cool," Lizzie said.  
  
"It will be so much fun," Miranda agreed.   
  
"Now's the fun part," Gordo started," we all get to go and convince our parents that spending a week on a boat with only other teenagers is a great idea."  
  
"That should be fun," Lizzie sighed thinking of her mother," but since Mom let me go on the road trip last summer she might be more willing to go for this idea."  
  
"If not, we'll use the gang up tactic again," Miranda said," you know get the other parents to say yes and then all go to yours and say we can't go without you. I think that really plays on the parent's guilt."  
  
"Oh that's a very succesful tactic," Kate agreed.  
  
"I hope that my parents will just let me go this time," Lizzie said," with no begging."  
  
"Don't forget, this is still a few months off, we dont' have to rush them into agreement. If necessary we can drag this out for a while," Ethan pointed out.   
  
A/N: This chapter was more of a filler, kind of boring, and I apologize for that. More fun stuff will be coming up with spring break, prom and graduation. As always, reviews are appreciated. Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story. I appreciate all of you! 


	16. The Eagles

Chapter 16: The Eagles  
  
Quick Disclaimer: Of course I don't own the movie Titanic or the band NSYNC which are briefly mentioned. I also do not own the Eagles or the songs "Desperado" or "Hotel California". I do own two cds with those songs on them though, lol. I took the lyrics from this website: #15 so I can't guarantee they are correct.   
  
(Lizzie's Bedroom-A Friday Night)  
  
"Lizzie phone for you," Matt yelled out.   
  
"I bet it's Gordo," Miranda guessed," who else ever calls you besides me and I'm here."  
  
Lizzie poked Miranda's arm and answered the phone," Hello."  
  
"Hey it's me Gordo," Gordo greeted.  
  
"It's Gordo all right," Lizzie whispered to Miranda who giggled in delight," Hey Gordo, how are you?"  
  
"I'm great Liz, guess what? I've got something for you!" Lizzie could tell he was smiling even over the phone.  
  
"What is it?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"I won us some concert tickets for the Eagles tomorrow night, you and I are going if you want to of course," Gordo explained.  
  
"Really? That's so great, you know I love the Eagles," Lizzie said," I'd love to go with you."  
  
Miranda gave Lizzie a look. The Eagles? That was a really old band. She had no idea Lizzie was into the old rock music. Lizzie waved her off and continued her conversation with Gordo.  
  
"You'll pick me up at 4 then?" Lizzie confirmed.  
  
"Yep," Gordo said.  
  
"Okay, well Miranda's here, so I gotta get off the phone. I'll see you tomorrow," Lizzie finished.  
  
"I love you Liz," Gordo told her.  
  
"I love you too," Lizzie blushed slightly as Miranda made faces at her.  
  
She hung up the phone and gave Miranda a light kick in the side," You are so immature sometimes!"  
  
"So? You know you still love me, I'm your best friend," Miranda laughed.  
  
"True, you are my goofy, annoying-at-times, childish best friend," Lizzie stuck her tongue out at Miranda.  
  
"Oh yeah, **I'm** childish," Miranda rolled her eyes.  
  
"Hey I'm just trying to be more like you," Lizzie doubled over in laughter.   
  
"Okay, so what movie are we going to watch?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Um. I don't know, you pick," Lizzie gestured at her expansive collection of DVDs.   
  
"Oh, how about Titanic," Miranda pulled out the movie and handed it to Lizzie.  
  
"Sounds good," Lizzie placed the disk into her DVD player.   
  
Jo McGuire popped her head into Lizzie's room, as if on cue," I brought you girls some popcorn. Hope you enjoy your movie, Sam and I are taking Matt out for dinner. We'll be back later."  
  
"Thanks Mrs. McGuire, that was really nice of you," Miranda took the bowl of popcorn.  
  
"Yeah thanks a lot Mom," Lizzie smiled at her mother.   
  
"Well, you two have fun, and stay out of trouble," Jo closed the door behind her.  
  
Lizzie was flopped across her bed with the DVD remote. Miranda took her spot on the floor and offered Lizzie the bowl of popcorn. She took a handful and then skipped through the previews. She heard her parents' car pull out of the driveway. It was nice to be left alone, even if they were just watching a movie. Titanic always made Lizzie cry, and she hated to let her parents see her cry. After a while, she sat up and Miranda joined her on the bed, leaving the popcorn on the floor.   
  
It had been a while since the girls had a sleepover. They had a great time, staying up late, and just talking girl talk. Since it was a Friday night, the girls were tired from waking up early and didn't last too long after one AM. It was a good thing for Lizzie since she was going to a concert with Gordo the next night anyway. She suddenly realized she hadn't told her parents about the concert, but they were long asleep. She started worry about it, but then figured that they would be fine with it.   
  
"Lizzie, Miranda, wake up," Sam gently shook his daughter and her friend awake.   
  
"What time is it?" Lizzie inquired groggily.   
  
"It's ten, your mom cooked breakfast for you, we were going to let you sleep, but it's getting cold," Sam explained.  
  
"Okay, we'll be down soon," Lizzie flopped back onto her bed.   
  
Sam backed out of the room and went back downstairs. His wife had cooked biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs. It smelled great, but he was already full from eating his own helping of it. He poured himself a second glass of orange juice and sat down with the newspaper.   
  
Lizzie was nearly asleep again when Miranda spoke," We better get up and get dressed Lizzie."  
  
Lizzie sighed," I know, I'm just tired. Oh well."  
  
They got up and changed out of their night clothes. Lizzie quickly threw her hair up into a ponytail, she'd get dressed differently to go to the concert later. For now she was satisfied with her sweat pants and pink t-shirt. She yawned and followed Miranda down the stairs and realized how hungry she was when she smelled the food her mother had cooked.  
  
"Good morning girls," Jo smiled and handed them each a plate of food," you can get your own drinks."  
  
Lizzie padded to the refrigerator in her fluffy pink slippers and pulled out the orange juice and milk cartons," Which do you want?"  
  
"Milk please," Miranda said.  
  
Lizzie replaced the orange juice into the fridge and pulled two glasses out of the cupboard. While she poured milk for herself and Miranda, Miranda got forks for them. Lizzie carried their drinks to the table and sat down. She began to eat and suddenly remembered she hadn't told her parents about the concert yet.   
  
"I'll be right back," Lizzie ran to find her parents.   
  
Sam looked up to see a breathless Lizzie standing in front of him," Can I help you?"  
  
"Dad I completely forgot to tell you and Mom last night. Gordo invited me to an Eagles concert tonight," Lizzie started.  
  
"We know," Sam cut her off," Gordo told your mother before you picked up the phone."  
  
"Wow, he's always looking out for me," Lizzie smiled and headed back to her meal.   
  
(Lizzie's house-nearly four o'clock)  
  
"Lizzie, Gordo's here," Matt called up the stairs to his sister.  
  
She checked herself in the mirror one last time and ran down to meet her fiancée. He was sitting on the coach with Sam and smiled at her as she entered the living room. Lizzie was wearing some distressed jeans and an old Eagles t-shirt of her mother's.   
  
"You kids be sure and have fun," Sam sent them off.   
  
Gordo opened Lizzie's door for her, then went around his car and got in the driver's side. He pulled out of the McGuire's driveway and headed towards the football stadium.  
  
"So Gordo," Lizzie yelled over the radio," how did you get these tickets?"  
  
He turned the radio down," I won them from this radio station. When I heard them say they were giving tickets away, I remembered how you liked the Eagles and thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. And it didn't hurt at all, I won them."  
  
"Wow, I wish I was lucky like that. I remember a long time ago, Miranda and I tried to win tickets to an NSYNC concert. We didn't even come close," Lizzie remembered.   
  
"Man am I glad you guys got over that craze," Gordo smiled.  
  
"It was annoying, I mean now I can't stand all those boy bands," Lizzie wrinkled her nose," what were we thinking?"  
  
"You were young and stupid," Gordo teased.  
  
"Gee thanks," Lizzie said," that's probably somewhat true though."  
  
"Everyone goes through periods of liking something and then later realizing how stupid it was," Gordo offered," I remember in third grade I was obsessed with comic books."  
  
"Oh yeah, I remember that," Lizzie smiled," but that didn't last long. I also had my job at the Digital Bean for a while. I felt the need for financial independence for a while. Then I realized how hard working was. Of course by the time I was 16, I was really ready for a job."  
  
"It's nice to have worked," Gordo started," I mean we have lots of money saved to spend and have fun this year."  
  
(Hillridge Stadium)  
  
"Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?   
  
You been out ridin' fences for so long now   
  
Oh, you're a hard one   
  
I know that you got your reasons   
  
These things that are pleasin' you   
  
Can hurt you somehow   
  
Don' you draw the queen of diamonds, boy   
  
She'll beat you if she's able   
  
You know the queen of heats is always your best bet," Lizzie sang along to the music.   
  
Gordo loved hearing Lizzie sing. She still had a beautiful voice. He thought that maybe someday she'd decide to pursue a career in singing, but even she didn't he'd always love her. He would always get to hear her singing because he was going to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her. She even enjoyed singing, and knew she could handle singing in front of a live crowd. He was still proud of her for turning down a contract so she could have a normal high school life. Gordo put his arm around Lizzie's shoulders and she flashed him a bright smile and leaned her head on his shoulders.   
  
The last song of the night was "Hotel California". Lizzie jumped up to sing along with this song, it was her favorite. She began to dance in the aisle and several other fans joined her. Gordo didn't mind the music, but he wasn't about to dance. He just smiled and watched the love of his life. When she was happy, he was happy.  
  
"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair   
  
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air   
  
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light   
  
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim   
  
I had to stop for the night   
  
There she stood in the doorway;   
  
I heard the mission bell   
  
And I was thinking to myself,   
  
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'   
  
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way   
  
There were voices down the corridor,   
  
I thought I heard them say...   
  
Welcome to the Hotel California   
  
Such a lovely place   
  
Such a lovely face   
  
Plenty of room at the Hotel California   
  
Any time of year, you can find it here   
  
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends   
  
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends   
  
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.   
  
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget   
  
So I called up the Captain,   
  
'Please bring me my wine'   
  
He said,'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'   
  
And still those voices are calling from far away,   
  
Wake you up in the middle of the night   
  
Just to hear them say...   
  
Welcome to the Hotel California   
  
Such a lovely place   
  
Such a lovely face   
  
They livin' it up at the Hotel California   
  
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis   
  
Mirrors on the ceiling,   
  
The pink champagne on ice   
  
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'   
  
And in the master's chambers,   
  
They gathered for the feast   
  
The stab it with their steely knives,   
  
But they just can't kill the beast   
  
Last thing I remember, I was   
  
Running for the door   
  
I had to find the passage back   
  
To the place I was before   
  
'Relax,'said the night man,   
  
We are programmed to receive.   
  
You can checkout any time you like,   
  
but you can never leave! "  
  
The concert finished and Lizzie sat down next Gordo, yawned and laid her head on his shoulder again. They had decided to wait for the crowd to clear before they tried to leave. There was no point in fighting the crowd to get to their car so they could sit and wait while people slowly filed out of the parking lot.   
  
"Thank you so much for winning these tickets and bringing me," Lizzie smiled and looked into Gordo's eyes," I had the best time tonight!"  
  
"I'm glad I could just spend the night with you," Gordo kissed the top of Lizzie's head," and it turns out their music isn't half bad."  
  
"Oh Gordo, let's go down to the gift shop and look around," Lizzie suddenly jumped and lead Gordo out of the stadium.  
  
"Hey cool, cds of this tour," Lizzie picked up a cd," I'm going to buy this."   
  
"And I think I'll buy you a tour shirt, and one for myself, so we can remember our first concert together," Gordo picked up a shirt in Lizzie's size.  
  
"Aww Gordo, that's so sweet. I hadn't thought of that," Lizzie gave him a big hug.  
  
They paid for their merchandise and then went to find Gordo's car. The parking lot was mostly empty by the time they found it. They decided to stop and get something to eat before heading home. Their parents knew they'd be out late, so it was only a matter of finding some place open.   
  
A/N: Sorry for the delay between chapters. I don't really have an excuse, just kind of didn't feel like writing. I was busy for a while, lots of trips to Water World and Six Flags Elitch Gardens. I had a good time, now it's back to boredom and writing again. The Eagles are one of my favorite bands, and the two songs I used in the chapter, Desperado and Hotel California are my favorite songs. Reviews always appreciated! 


	17. Valentine's Day

Chapter 17: Valentine's Day  
  
Disclaimer: I think we all know I don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling which is mentioned once in this chapter.   
  
(Hillridge High-Valentine's Day)  
  
"I can't believe that everyone around here has a boyfriend or girlfriend," Miranda moaned," and I'm single!"  
  
"It's Valentine's Day," Lizzie said," by next week, everyone will have broken up pretty much."  
  
"And in the meantime, I'm all alone," Miranda sighed," is there something wrong with me?"  
  
"No, you are beautiful, friendly, outgoing, who wouldn't want to go out with you?" Lizzie told her honestly.  
  
"Obviously all the guys at Hillridge High School," Miranda said.  
  
"Oh Randa, you are impossible to please," Lizzie hugged her friend," maybe you are just too mature for all of the guys here."  
  
"Oh I like that, I'll just tell myself that," Miranda laughed," thanks for telling me all that."  
  
Gordo spotted Lizzie talking to Miranda and snuck up behind them. He had a bouquet of roses, a teddy bear and a box of chocolates for Lizzie. Sure, they were all clichés, but he knew Lizzie would love them anyway. He picked out pink roses because that was Lizzie's favorite color. Once he got behind Lizzie he tapped her shoulder and she jumped a mile into the air.  
  
"Good grief! David you sure know how to scare the heck out of someone," Lizzie swung around to face him," Gordo, is all that for me?"  
  
"Yes because I love you," Gordo smiled.  
  
"I love you too," Lizzie embraced Gordo tightly. She had to restrain from kissing him because the principal just happened to be strolling by.  
  
"See Lizzie, this is why I'm jealous," Miranda started," no one brought me flowers, candy or a teddy bear!"  
  
"Actually, this is for you," Gordo pulled out another box of candy from behind his back.  
  
"Aw Gordo, you're so sweet," Miranda hugged him.   
  
Lizzie smiled at Gordo. He was incredibly thoughtful. She was so glad that she was going to be with him for the rest of her life. She couldn't believe how much she loved him. At one point, she wouldn't have thought she could love anyone so much. Gordo was one of the most kind, intelligent, and thoughtful people she had ever met. Gordo turned back and caught her smiling at him. He loved Lizzie's beautiful smile.   
  
"Gordo, what made you think of getting Randa something too?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"I remember her saying something about not having a boyfriend, so I figured she'd like it if I got her something. Valentine's Day is a crappy day for single people," Gordo explained.  
  
"I am so glad that you guys are my best friends," Miranda said.  
  
"And we're glad you're our best friend," Lizzie smiled," just think we only have a few more months of guaranteed time together."  
  
"Wow, you're right Liz. Gordo will be gone this summer, so the three of us won't be hanging out together anymore. But you and I will do stuff together right?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Of course. You are going to New York for medical school, that's the entire country away!" Lizzie said.  
  
"True, if I'm going so far away for school, I don't really want a boyfriend anyway, do I?" Miranda stated.   
  
"Yep, long distance things almost never work out," Gordo assured her.  
  
"It's a good thing I'm going to be going to college in California too," Lizzie said," that way you and I will be seeing eachother all the time. My school's only about a 20 minute drive and yours is about half an hour in the other direction. So we can come home on the weekends to see eachother all the time."  
  
The bell rang sending everyone scurrying off to their classes.   
  
(Later that day-Gordon House)  
  
"My parents left to go to some sort of conference," Gordo unlocked the door," so the house is all ours."  
  
Lizzie smiled nervously," We won't be getting into any trouble right?"  
  
"No of course not," Gordo assured her," it's just nice to not have parents bugging us."  
  
"Yes it is," Lizzie agreed.  
  
Gordo set his backpack down by the front door and Lizzie did the same. Then he went into the kitchen to get a snack. Lizzie sat on the couch and waited for Gordo to return. A few minutes later, he reappeared with two plates balanced on his arm and two glasses of milk. Lizzie jumped up to help him so he wouldn't drop anything. He had brought them each a piece of cake.   
  
"So, it's okay with your parents for you to have dinner with me?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Oh, I didn't know I was staying that long. I'll just call my mom and tell her now," Lizzie jumped up to find the phone.  
  
(McGuire House)  
  
"Lizzie just called to say she's staying at Gordo's house for dinner," Jo hung up the phone," Sam, I don't want those two alone for that long."  
  
"Jo dear, they won't do anything stupid," Sam assured his wife," this is David Gordon we're talking about. He's very smart and mature."  
  
"He's also a teenage boy with _my_ daughter," Jo huffed.  
  
"It's going to be fine," Sam gave her a look.  
  
"Fine. But if they do something, you are at fault," Jo warned.  
  
"They won't," Sam told his wife.  
  
"So, what did you get me for Valentine's Day?" Jo changed the subject.   
  
"I'm not telling you, it'll ruin the surprise," Sam grinned mysteriously.  
  
"What surprise?" Matt walked into the room.  
  
"Whatever your father got me for Valentine's Day," Jo explained.  
  
"Oh," Matt was uninterested.  
  
"Why don't you go find a snack son," Sam instructed.   
  
"Whatever," Matt muttered as he left. He knew his parents were going to get all "lovey dovey" with eachother and he hated that.   
  
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was Lanny. Jo let him in and explained that Matt was probably in the kitchen. He gave her one of his usual quiet stares and then plopped his backpack on the couch on his way to find Matt. Jo picked the backpack up and hung it on the coat rack. Kids were always just tossing their things around, that was one thing that always drove her nuts. They didn't seem to care where their stuff ended up.   
  
"Lanny, hey I didn't know you were coming over," Matt said.  
  
Lanny stared at Matt.  
  
"You're right Lanny, you did say you were coming over, I just forgot," Matt shook his head," well let's go do something I don't want to stay here. It's Valentine's Day and Lizzie is at Gordo's house. We should go check up on them for my parents."  
  
Lanny grinned evilly and followed Matt out of the house. Matt mostly left Lizzie alone these days, but something about being with Lanny made him crave a bit of mischief. Besides, it would be a favor to his parents, though they would pretend to be angry if they knew he was spying.   
  
(Outside Gordo's House)  
  
"Okay now Lanny, be quiet, we don't want them to know we're here," Matt snuck up towards the living room window.   
  
He and Lanny peaked in to see if they could spot Lizzie and Gordo. They were sitting on the floor eating cake. Upon closer inspection, they were actually feeding eachother cake.   
  
"I know Lanny, that is sickening," Matt made a face," I hope I never act like that if I fall in love."  
  
They continued to watch Lizzie and Gordo as they finished up their cake. Matt could tell they were talking, but he just wished he could hear them. Gordo stood up and Matt and Lanny quickly dove out of sight. Matt hoped they hadn't been spotted. He waited a minute then carefully peaked in again. Gordo was sitting down next to Lizzie, so he signaled for Lanny to stand up again. They watched as Gordo said something, then proceeded to lick Lizzie's face.  
  
"Gross!" Matt shouted, then realized his mistake and made a break for it.  
  
(Inside Gordo's House)  
  
"Lizzie, you have some frosting on your face," Gordo laughed," I'll take care of it."  
  
He leaned in to lick the frosting off, then heard a shout.   
  
"Did you hear that?" Lizzie ran to the window.   
  
"I don't see anyone," Gordo opened the door and peered outside.   
  
"It was probably just kids playing across the street, or in the neighbor's yard or something," Lizzie closed the curtains," but just in case someone was watching us, I feel better with the curtains shut."  
  
"Me too," Gordo took Lizzie's hand and lead her back to the couch," now where were we?"  
  
"I believe you were cleaning frosting off my face," Lizzie smiled.   
  
"Right," Gordo leaned in to kiss Lizzie," you taste sweet, like sugar."  
  
"Be quiet," Lizzie said as they kissed again.   
  
They began to slowly kiss more and more. They were kissing eachother passionately and running their hands over eachother when the phone startled them back to reality.  
  
"I'll answer that," Gordo jumped up and smoothed his shirt.   
  
Lizzie leaned back onto the couch. Part of her was glad the phone rang. If it hadn't, she wasn't sure when or where they would have stopped. She loved Gordo, but she wanted to wait until they were married to go all the way. Kissing was fine, but she didn't know where to draw the line. Gordo was gone for a few minutes.  
  
"That was my parents," he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Leave it to parents to know just when to call," Lizzie laughed.   
  
"Yeah. So, did you have any homework today?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Oh, yes I did. Better get it done so we can enjoy dinner," Lizzie rumaged through her backpack for her math book," I think I left my calculator in my locker, can I borrow yours?"  
  
"Sure thing," Gordo pulled his out of his backpack and handed it to Lizzie.   
  
(Dinnertime)  
  
"Okay Lizzie, dinner is a surprise, just give me a few minutes in the kitchen, make sure you have a jacket," Gordo instructed.   
  
Lizzie was a little confused but went to get her jacket out of Gordo's back seat. She sat on the couch and waited for Gordo to return. He walked back into the living room grinning and holding a picnic basket.   
  
"We're going on a picnic dinner," he explained.  
  
"Oh Gordo, this is so sweet," Lizzie locked the house as Gordo put the food in the trunk of his car.   
  
Gordo drove them to a secluded spot in a park for their meal. He spread out a blanket for them to sit on and brought the basket of food over to Lizzie. He smiled as he handed her a paper plate. Then he pulled out a couple of candles and lit them. Then he handed Lizzie a wine glass and she gave him a funny look.  
  
"We-we can't drink Gordo," she stammered.  
  
"Why not?" he asked, pulling out a bottle," it's just sparkling grape juice."  
  
"I should know you better," Lizzie laughed at herself.   
  
The main course was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, their childhood favorite.  
  
"I don't think I've had one of these in years," Lizzie bit hungrily into her sandwich.   
  
"I hope you like our little dinner," Gordo wanted her approval.  
  
"Of course! It's so perfectly romantic," Lizzie gave Gordo a kiss.  
  
"You wouldn't think PB&J would be romantic though," Gordo smiled.   
  
"No you wouldn't," Lizzie giggled.   
  
They finished their meal and Lizzie expected they were going to head home, but Gordo motioned for her to stay there. He put the basket away and then climbed into the driver's seat of his car. Lizzie waited patiently as Gordo opened the passenger's side door and turned on his cd player. He stepped out as the song "Wherever You Will Go" began to float out into the night sky.   
  
"This is my favorite song," Lizzie ran to hug Gordo.  
  
"I know, I think this should be our song," Gordo took Lizzie's hand and they began to dance.   
  
"Oh David Gordon, I love you so much!" Lizzie proclaimed.  
  
"I love you too Elizabeth McGuire," Gordo kissed her as they danced.   
  
When the song finished, it was time to go and Gordo drove her back to her house. She went inside and was surprised to find Matt home alone.   
  
"Where did Mom and Dad go?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"They went off to some fancy restaurant," Matt said, staring at the TV.   
  
"Oh. Well I'm home," Lizzie said as she went up to her room. She had to call Miranda and tell her all about her afternoon and evening.   
  
"Obviously you are," Matt turned to say more, but saw that Lizzie was already up the stairs.  
  
A/N: Had a bit of writer's block and that's what took this chapter so long. Will update again some day. lol 


	18. Spring Break

Chapter 18: Spring Break  
  
A/N: At the end of this chapter, I have a special sneak preview to the sequel of this story! I don't usually decide to write a sequel this early, but since I knew this story had to end at the end of the school year, I decided I wanted to keep going. So be sure and read the sneak preview at the end.   
  
(Hillridge High Auditorium)  
  
"All right seniors, we are really getting down to the wire here. It's March and that means we only have a limited number of days left together," Miss Ungermyer announced.  
  
The senior class burst into celebratory cheers at that comment. Time was really flying by, as it was almost spring break.   
  
"Very funny class. Seriously, we need to start preparing for graduation now. Last month you ordered your caps and gowns, this month you can order all your other class memorabilia. But first, your counselor is here to explain to you how these last months are going to run down," Ungermyer stepped aside for the nervous looking woman behind her.   
  
"Hi seniors, you all know me as Mrs. Connors, your class counselor. The official count is at 39 school days left! That's not a lot of time. You have prom, and your senior banquet and all that fun stuff coming up, but we also have important deadlines coming up. Your official last day of school is May 18th, but that means your grades are due the 17th. You need to make sure that you are passing all your classes that you need to graduate right now. If any of you are in jeopardy of failing a class you need, come see me immediately. With a short amount of time left, you don't have time to screw around anymore! I hope that no one is left behind, but if by May 1, you don't have a D or above in your requirement classes, you will not be graduating with your class," Mrs. Connors stepped back and let Ungermyer at the microphone again.  
  
"Now for the fun stuff," she started with a sinister tone in her voice, "there will be NO senior pranks. Anyone pulling a prank will not be graduating this year, bottom line. Also, you may have heard of a 'senior ditch day'. The school does not condone this, and anyone caught skipping school on that day will be suspended for up to 5 days. I mean business here kids. Now here's Mr. Flanders to explain to you about class mugs and all that stuff."  
  
"Oh yeah, ditching school gets you suspended for a week?" Miranda whispered to Lizzie.  
  
"That makes sense, the punishment for skipping school is making you stay home for a week," Lizzie laughed quietly.   
  
"If anything, they should make you stay at school for an extra week after the rest of the seniors leave," Gordo whispered.   
  
"Now **that** would be torture," Miranda made a face at the thought of extra time at school.  
  
"Seniors! Be quiet while this man tries to speak to you!" Ungermyer yelled as quite a few people were whispering and not really listening. The poor man at the podium seemed as if he wasn't sure whether he should continue speaking or just give up and run away. Miss Ungermyer was still very intimidating.   
  
The man finished his speech and then a few more things were said and Miss Ungermyer closed the meeting, "Okay, now I understand we have some time left over to take pictures with your friends and whatnot for the senior slideshow."  
  
(Outside the Auditorium)  
  
Lizzie grabbed Miranda and Kate and the three girls posed for a picture with their arms wrapped around one another. Then Miranda and Lizzie posed with Gordo, who had been standing aside. He didn't really feel the need to be in tons of pictures. And finally, before heading off to get lunch, Lizzie and Gordo hugged eachother and gave the camera a nice smile.   
  
(Kate's House-Monday of Spring Break)  
  
Miranda was the first to arrive at Kate's house and she had to wait for all the others to arrive. Lizzie and Gordo came together and Ethan arrived last.   
  
"Sorry I was late guys," he said, "I had to make sure I had lots of hair gel, you know the ocean can be pretty rough on your hair."  
  
Miranda rolled her eyes. Sure Ethan was no fool anymore, but he was still incredibly vain.   
  
"Is everyone ready to drive to the beach then?" Kate asked.   
  
"Yes," came the general reply.   
  
"Okay, I printed out maps for you all, just so no one gets lost," Kate handed a map to each person," I also didn't know who was going to be driving. Ethan's riding with me and then you three are riding together?"  
  
"Yeah, that's the plan," Gordo said.  
  
"We'll see you at the beach then," Kate hopped behind the wheel of her '65 Mustang.  
  
"Kate has one nice car," Miranda observed.  
  
"She's so lucky, my car's a heap of junk," Gordo kicked the tire of his car.  
  
(Miranda's car-nearly at the beach)  
  
"All right! We're almost there," Lizzie piped up at the sight of the sands and the ocean.   
  
"I'm so excited," Miranda shouted over her radio, "this will be so much fun!"  
  
"Yeah it's not like 5 teenagers, alone on a boat for several days could get into trouble or anything," Gordo joked.  
  
"There's still the boat's captain," Lizzie reminded," we won't be entirely unsupervised."  
  
"Ah, he'll be too busy steering the boat to watch us," Miranda dismissed Lizzie's idea.   
  
Miranda steered her car into a parking lot and unloaded all their gear. They would be staying on a small island for a night or two, so they had all sorts of tent and camping gear. Kate was just ahead of them and she and Ethan met the trio at the walk that lead out to the docks.   
  
"That's our boat there at the end," Kate gestured to the large boat that said 'Princess Kate.'  
  
"Princess Kate?" Gordo let out a sharp laugh.  
  
"Shut up," Kate smacked him, "my parents named it, not me."  
  
"Ha, you have to admit it's a pretty funny name," Miranda laughed too.  
  
"It is a great name," Lizzie smirked.  
  
"Least we can all remember a name like that," Ethan smiled.  
  
"You're not going to bug me about this the whole time are you?" Kate snapped at the group, "because there's nothing that says I won't abandon you all on the island."  
  
"Yes ma'am," Lizzie mock saluted Kate, "we will be nice to you."  
  
Kate narrowed her eyes, "I'll be watching you McGuire." The tone in her voice was reminiscent of her rude cheerleader days. But before it could turn too weird, Kate burst into laughter, easing the tension.  
  
"Let's get this show on the road, er ocean," Gordo lugged his gear onto the boat.   
  
A man in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts stepped out onto the deck, "Welcome aboard the Princess Kate, I'm your captain Jack. I'll be taking you out to the island. We probably won't get there until tomorrow, there are lounge chairs on the deck for you to sleep on tonight. I'll be stopping shortly after lunchtime so you kids can go swim or whatever you do."  
  
(Tuesday Morning-small island)  
  
"Well kids this is your island," Jack announced to his passengers.   
  
"Looks beautiful," Lizzie breathed.  
  
"Time to unload all our camping gear," Kate announced.  
  
Ethan and Gordo started tossing their tents into the raft that they would use to go ashore. Jack was going to stay aboard the boat about a half mile out in the ocean while the kids rowed ashore and camped on the island. Then if they wanted to, they could either head back home, or stay another night on the island. Once all of their gear was loaded into the raft, the kids all got in and rowed to the island.   
  
"Well, we can't pitch our tents right here," Gordo announced, "we have to keep the tide in mind. We'll need to head back into the trees a little way."  
  
They all grabbed some gear and made their way into the trees. A short way in, there was a clearing big enough to pitch two tents. They got their tents set up and a place for a camp fire ready. The three girls would be sharing the bigger tent, while Ethan and Gordo shared the other. Now they had the entire day to spend exploring the island and doing whatever they wanted.   
  
"So, who wants to go hike to the other side of the island with me?" Kate asked.  
  
"I do," Lizzie and Gordo said simultaneously then laughed.   
  
Kate gave them a disgusted look and said, "As long as you don't do that again. It was just wrong."  
  
"Hey, great minds think alike," Lizzie grinned.  
  
"So you and Ethan coming too?" Kate asked Miranda.  
  
"Sure," Miranda said.  
  
"Okay," Ethan agreed.   
  
The day was spent hiking and exploring around the island. They found a small cave, but the opening was so tiny no one would fit in. It wouldn't have been a good idea to explore anyway, so everyone was relieved that they were too big to fit inside. They carried a lunch with them and had a picnic lunch on the beach on the other end of the island. Then they hiked back and arrived back at camp just in time for the sun to go down. After a nice dinner, they all went to sleep because their day of hiking had worn them out.   
  
The next day, the girls woke up early and went out for a swim. Ethan and Gordo woke up and made something for breakfast. When the girls returned, they all decided it'd be a good idea to head back to land. That way they'd still have Friday and the weekend to enjoy some time at home, seeing movies or whatever they wanted to do. All of them thouroughly enjoyed their little trip and thought it was a nice getaway for a few days. They would be refreshed and relaxed to spend their last few weeks at school.  
  
A/N: I've never been to the ocean so I don't know if it's actually warm enough to swim in March, but for the sake of the story, if it isn't, we'll just pretend it is. To me, this chapter seems a bit rushed. I am running out of ideas of what to do, so I might end up just skipping right through to graduation real soon. Anyway, as promised, here is a sneak preview to the sequel of this story, coming after this one is completed:  
  
"Well you remember our trip to Rome, back after 8th grade?" she started.  
  
"Yes," he replied.  
  
"You also remember I was offered a record contract, right?"  
  
"Yes Liz, honey, what are you getting at?"   
  
"I've been offered a contract again. I told the record company that I needed a few days to think it over. I'm not sure what to do. So I'm asking you, should I become a pop star or continue my college education?"  
  
"Wow. You know if you look deep into your heart and tell me what you truly want, that's what you should do. If you really wish to become a singer, I'll be there for you along the way. But if you decide you'd rather turn down the offer and just continue a normal life and your college education, I'll back you 100%. No matter what you do, I love you and I'll be there with you," Gordo explained.  
  
Lizzie was silent for a moment. She had to digest all that Gordo had just said. She thought hard about her options and what her life would be like after each decision. Then she knew what she wanted to do.  
  
"Gordo, I know what I want," Lizzie stated.  
  
"And you're sure it's what you truly want in your life?" he questioned.  
  
"I am completely sure that my decision is the one I want," Lizzie said firmly.  
  
"Good, what did you decide?" Gordo asked. 


	19. Talent Show

Chapter 19: Talent Night

(In Class)

"And next Wednesday after school, we will be holding auditions for this year's talent show," the girl on the intercom announced, "so if you dance, sing or have any other talents you want to share, be sure and come audition!"

"Oh Liz, you have to audition," Miranda told her.

"I don't know, Miranda," Lizzie started.

"Come on, you're like one of the best singers in this school, you have to audition," Miranda said forcefully.

"Okay," Lizzie caved in. She actually kind of liked the idea of singing for the school.

"Yes, I know you will impress everyone. You are a great singer Lizzie," Miranda told her.

"Maybe you should do something too," Lizzie suggested.

"Me?" Miranda asked, "naw, I'm not talented at anything."

"Miranda Sanchez! That's not true, you are an excellent dancer. Maybe we could do something together, you know I sing and you dance," Lizzie thought aloud.

"If you insist, but we have to an audition piece ready for the auditon. Hey, what about that music video we did for Gordo in 8th grade. Do you still have it? We could watch it and refresh our memories. You could learn the words to the song and we could dance together, while you sing,"

Miranda was getting excited. "That's actually a good idea," Lizzie agreed, "let's do it. I have the video somewhere at home, I know it."

"Miss McGuire, Miss Sanchez, if you don't mind, I'd like to start class now," the teacher was glaring at them.

"Sorry," Lizzie mumbled as she turned red. (In the Parking Lot-After School

"So we're going to be auditioning for the talent show, we'll be practicing all weekend," Lizzie explained.

"I bet they are looking for someone to film the show," Gordo said. "You always act as the official school cameraman," Miranda laughed.

"What can I say? They adore my photography skills," Gordo smiled.

"You are good at it," Lizzie agreed.

"Do you want to come watch us practice?" Mirnada asked.

"Whose house?" Gordo answered her question with another.

"Mine of course," Lizzie stated, "where do we always hang out?"

"Any particular reason that we always hang out there?" Miranda wondered aloud.

"I don't think so, we just kind of always have done it that way," Lizzie returned. "There's nothing wrong with it, it's where we are all comfortable," Gordo offered.

"Speaking of, are we ready to get out of this place and enjoy our weekend?" Miranda jumped into her car. "Oh yeah, can't wait until we graduate," Lizzie smiled, "we'll be out of this place forever!"

"It's coming up quicker than you realize," Gordo said. "I know, I'm excited," Lizzie gave Gordo a kiss.

Miranda drove them to Lizzie's house. Jo McGuire had a plate of cookies and three glasses of milk waiting for them. She knew that they'd be coming over after school, it was their routine.

"Hello kids," she greeted them.

"Hi Mrs. McGuire," Gordo and Miranda said in unison.

"Hi Mom," Lizzie dropped her backpack on the living room floor. "How was your day?" Jo inquired.

"Great, Miranda and I are going to audition for the talent show," Lizzie told her mom.

"That sounds wonderful dear," Jo handed Lizzie the cookies and she carried the milk to where Gordo and Miranda were sitting on the couch.

"Thanks for the cookies," Gordo picked one up.

"Yeah thanks," Miranda said through a mouthful of cookies. "Not a problem," Jo smiled and left the kids to their own plans.

"Okay, so I have the music video," Lizzie popped the tape into the VCR and pressed play. The three friends sat back and watched as Lizzie and Miranda danced on the screen. They watched the video a few times, then decided they should try to see if they could remember all the steps to the dance. The girls were actually doing pretty well until Lizzie tripped over the McGuire's coffee table and fell on the floor.

"Lizzie! Are you okay?" Miranda asked, a little bit of fear apparent in her voice. Gordo jumped up to assist Lizzie.

"I'm okay," she grinned sheepishly, "that just hurt a little bit."

Miranda laughed and gave Gordo a hand getting Lizzie to her feet. "The good thing is, there won't be any coffee tables on stage when you perform," Gordo teased.

"Very funny," Lizzie gave him a hurt look.

"Okay, we'll just move this out of the way until we're done," Miranda lifted one end of the coffee table. Gordo picked up the other end and they moved it out of the way so the girls could practice the dance some more.

After about an hour, the girls had the dance steps down comfortably. They would, of course practice some more, but it was time for Lizzie to learn the words to the song. Lizzie fired up her laptop so that she could print out the lyrics to the song. Gordo had burned a cd with the music, but not the words to the song. Lizzie read over the lyrics, then began to sing. Miranda and Gordo both sat back and listened to her beautiful voice as she sang.

"This is going to be amazing," Miranda whispered. "You guys will be great," Gordo agreed, "so what's the prize if you guys win the talent show?"

"I think it's a $1000 scholarship for each of us," Miranda said.

"Well, it's not much, but it's better than nothing I guess," Gordo smiled at Lizzie as she finished singing.

"That was great Liz," Miranda clapped her friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks. I think it needs work, but I think we can have a decent shot at winning," Lizzie grinned.

(Talent Show Auditions)

"Okay, next on the list we have Miranda Sanchez and Lizzie McGuire," the drama teacher, Miss Brown announced.

Lizzie and Miranda took center stage and Gordo cued their music. They went through their routine with a few minor mistakes and stood, breathless as they finished. The whole room was silent for a moment, then all broke out into applause. Lizzie and Miranda high-fived eachother and then sat and watched as the rest of the acts practiced. There was a guy playing his guitar, a few magic acts, a few short scenes from various plays and a few other singers.

"Everyone did a great job, I think our show this year will be amazing," Miss Brown said, "I will have the results for which acts will be in the show tomorrow posted outside the auditorium along with practice times. Have a nice afternoon."

The auditorium suddenly roared to life as students gathered their belongings and exited. Some of them hung around to talk to their friends. Most of them had plans and homework to do.

(Next Morning-Before School)  
"Look at the list," Lizzie ordered her best friend, "I'm too afraid to see for myself."

"Lizzie, open your eyes, we made it!" Miranda jumped up in excitement. "Wow, I was so afraid that we wouldn't make it," Lizzie broke into a smile.

"Come on, you know we're good," Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Haha, someone sounds a little cocky," Lizzie winked.

"I don't mean it like that, but Lizzie, remember you are the girl who performed at the IMVAs and the crowd there loved you," Miranda reminded her.

"True," Lizzie agreed, "so when is practice?"

"Everyday after school until the show next Thursday night," Miranda read off the flyer.

"Okay, works for me," Lizzie walked toward class with Miranda.

(The Talent Show-Announcement of Winners)

"And this year's second place goes to..........Timmy Walters with his wonderful magic tricks, congratulations Timmy," Miss Brown said.

The audience clapped and cheered as Timmy took his second place award. Then they got quiet so that Miss Brown could announce the winner.

"Our winners for this year's talent show will each receive a $1000 scholarship. Get ready to applaud because this year's talent show first prize goes to......Lizzie McGuire and Miranda Sanchez! Congrats girls!" Miss Brown smiled as the crowd erupted into cheers.

Lizzie and Miranda accepted their award and smiled proudly as the auditorium full of people cheered for them. Lizzie's parents were in the audience and they sent Matt up with a bouquet of roses for Lizzie and another one for Miranda. All of the talent show participants ran out on the stage and took a group bow. Then they all went backstage to gather their belongings and make sure everything was cleaned up.

Gordo met the girls backstage, "Congratulations you two, the room loved you."

"They loved Lizzie," Miranda added.

"No, they loved BOTH of you," Gordo assured her, "you are a talented dancer, Sanchez."

Miranda blushed, she didn't think she was all that great, but was glad Gordo supported her. They went out into the foyer to meet their families. Hugs went all around and the McGuires offered to take everyone out for ice cream.

A/N: So sorry for the delay between chapters. I started writing this a while ago, then forgot where I was going with it. Then I got busy getting ready to move in at college. Now I'm here, at Colorado State University (go Rams!) and I should be having more time to write, though I won't guarantee it. I am sorry if this chapter is boring, like I said I forgot where I was going and this ended up being sort of a filler. The story is nearly over now. A couple more chapters I think and she's finished!


	20. School Winds Down Quickly

Chapter 20: School Winds Down Quickly

A/N: I think the best way to get the last few weeks of school covered is just to put them all together in one chapter. I might bore you to death if I tried to stretch out the last few events into separate chapters.

(Senior Prom)  
By the time Prom rolled around, Lizzie and Gordo were favorites for Prom King and Queen. The whole senior class had fallen in love with the couple. They were so perfect together, everyone knew they'd have a happy life together. Miranda had broken up with her boyfriend and was just going with a group of friends. She didn't really want to go to the Prom, but it was their one and only Senior Prom, so she went to humor her friends.

The theme of their dance was "Heaven on Earth". The floor was surrounded by fake clouds and angels hung from the ceiling. It was kind of corny, but pretty nonetheless. Lizzie was wearing a beautiful blue dress and Gordo looked adorable in his tuxedo. Miranda had gone with a sparkly red dress for Prom and she looked stunning in it.

The trio had their picture taken together, then just Lizzie and Gordo had theirs taken together. They looked amazing together in the picture. All night long, it was impossible to separate Lizzie and Gordo. It was as if they were attached with superglue. They danced the night away in perfect harmony. When it came time to announce the Prom King and Queen, they were barely paying attention. Their eyes were locked and they were staring at one another.

"Class of 2007, your Prom Queen is Elizabeth McGuire!"

"Lizzie," Miranda elbowed her blonde-haired friend, "that's you!"

"Oh...I won?" Lizzie sounded genuinely surprised. The dancers all cheered as Lizzie made her way up to the stage to be crowned Queen.

As she stood smiling happily, they announced, "This year's Prom King is David Gordon!"

Lizzie's smile grew even bigger at that announcement. Gordo made his way sheepishly to the stage. He didn't like all the attention on him, but he smiled anyway. They placed a crown on his head and then lead Lizzie and Gordo to the center of the dance floor. The crowd parted and the band began to play a slow song. Lizzie and Gordo danced together and everyone watched the happy couple.

"Hillridge High School Class of 2007, once again your Prom King and Queen, David Gordon and Elizabeth McGuire!"

The seniors all cheered for them and then the music started for everyone to dance again.

"Gordo, I had the best time tonight," Lizzie confided as they rode home in the limo.

"I had an amazing time because I was with you," Gordo stroked her cheek lovingly.

"David, you're so sweet," Lizzie sighed contentedly.

Gordo was admiring his beautiful fiancee and noticed a tear slip down her perfect cheek. "What's the matter?" he asked with concern.

"Nothing, I'm just really happy," Lizzie smiled.

Gordo wrapped his arms around her and they kissed. The limo came to a stop in front of Lizzie's house and Gordo walked her to the front door.

"God, I love you," he said as he stared at her beauty.

"I love you too," Lizzie kissed him briefly as she felt her parents watching.

"Goodnight, my queen," Gordo grinned his lopsided grin at her.

"Goodnight, my king," Lizzie smiled brightly.

(Senior Banquet)  
"Welcome Class of 2007, to your senior dinner," the principal announced as the students sat, all dressed in fancy clothes, at round tables throughout the banquet hall, "First up, we will be serving dinner. Once you have had a decent chance to eat, we'll be bringing up our keynote speaker."

Waiters, as if on cue, poured out of the kitchen, pushing carts full of covered platters. They served served all the seniors their dinners of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. Their dessert was strawberry cheesecake that looked better than any dessert they'd ever had before.

"Wow, this dinner looks fantastic," Lizzie said.

"It smells delicious," Miranda agreed.

"Let's stop talking about it and eat," Gordo announced.

"Good point," Lizzie picked up her fork and began to eat.

The food was delicious and everyone was finished in about half an hour. The principal got up to announce their keynote speaker. It was a former football player (A/N: the speaker at my banquet was a former Broncos player, you wouldn't think he'd be a good speaker, but he was).

He spoke a little bit about his career as a football player and then spoke about how life would be in the real world. He emphasized how important it was to always be positive about life because the path ahead (going to college and all) would not be all easy stuff.

Once he was done speaking, it was the moment most people had been waiting for: the senior slideshow. It was an hour long slideshow of pictures of all the senior from different times in their senior years, and all of high school. Lizzie was in quite a few pictures: Powder Puff, Homecoming, the musical, the talent show and Prom. Miranda and Gordo were in their share of pictures too. Everyone in the senior class was pictured at least once. The last picture was the official senior class picture that had been taken earlier in the school year. All of the seniors at the banquet were guaranteed a DVD copy of the slideshow at graduation practice.

(Seniors Last Day of School)

A week from graduation and three weeks before the end of school, the seniors had their official last day of school. It was a very leisurely day for the seniors. They didn't have to be to school until 3rd period. Then there would be an all-school assembly where the seniors sat down in the center of the the gym, while the rest of the school took their usual seats in the bleachers.

They did their official good-byes and closing ceremonial things for the Class of 2007. Then they showed the slideshow again (for those who hadn't been to the banquet and for the rest of the school).

At the end of the slideshow the principal stood up in front of the seniors, "Class of 2007, we love you, we're going to miss you, it's been an amazing four years. We all have memories that will last a lifetime. But now, it's time for us to say good-bye to you. Go out to the courtyard and enjoy your senior barbecue!"

The seniors filed noisily out into the courtyard where there were grills filled with hamburgers and hotdogs. There were even vegetarian options for those who wanted them. The rest of the school was released to go back to class, but were not allowed in the courtyard. It was a seniors only event. It was their last day of school, their last chance to hang out and have fun as a class. Their official last time together would be at graduation.

"Man look at the line for food already," Lizzie complained.

"It's okay," Gordo said, pulling out his digital camera.

"Oh yeah, we should get pictures with all our friends," Miranda got her own camera out.

They spent the next half hour going around and having their pictures taken with their best friends. Everyone was thouroughly enjoying themselves.

Finally the food line died down, and Lizzie, Gordo, Miranda and the rest of their group of friends went to get their food. There was a trashcan filled with ice and pop. On a table opposite the grills, there were bags of potato chips, cookies and a cake that said "Congratulations Class of 2007 - YOU MADE IT!".

Everyone ate and danced to the music, took pictures with friends, passed around yearbooks to be signed and had a good time. At about one, people started filing out of the courtyard. Some people seemed almost reluctant to leave, but most people were going off to have parties and celebrate that high school was over.

A/N: This chapter was shorter, another sort of filler. I think the story has been drug out long enough though, and it's time to bring it to a close. I believe the next chapter will be the last one, unless I suddenly think of something else to add to this. I'm pretty sure it's almost over though. I hope you, the readers, have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Just think I was a senior in high school when I started writing it, and now I'm a freshman in college (hard to believe it's been nearly a year, I had no intention of it taking this long). Time flies! Please review and let me know how you like it.


	21. Graduation

Chapter 21: Graduation

(Graduation Practice)

The day before the actual graduation ceremony, the seniors of Hillridge High School met in their gym to hold their graduation practice. This was a basic run-through of how the ceremony would work so that when they were doing the actual ceremony it would look choreographed and organized. Their graduation was to be held at a college basketball arena. They would enter in two different groups, one from the right and one from the left, based on their last name. Then they would sit on the left or right side so there was an aisle down the center of the gym.

After about a half hour, the seniors had completed the basic run-through one whole time. Now that they didn't need everything explained, they would run through and have the announcers call out their names so that at graduation they would know how to pronounce names. Lizzie and Gordo were on opposite sides of the gym of course because of their last names. Miranda was several rows behind Lizzie. They wouldn't be able to sit together during the ceremony, but of course there would be plenty of time to hang out afterwords. In the coming weeks there would be plenty of graduation parties to attend.

"Well that was hot and boring," Miranda said to her friends after the practice was over.

"Yeah that gym is always hot," Lizzie commented.

"Oh well, that was the last time we'll ever be in it," Gordo smiled.

"True," Miranda smiled too.

"I'm glad we ran through it, even if it was boring, just so we don't look lost when we walk down the stairs and onto the floor," Lizzie said.

"Good point," Miranda agreed.

"Now Lizzie, we're going down a lot of stairs, so don't wear shoes that will make you trip and fall," Gordo teased.

"Shut up," Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him, "and I plan to wear flat shoes. So you just worry about yourself Gordon."

"To be honest," Miranda started, "Lizzie, you are the one who is most likely to fall."

"You guys are so mean to me!" Lizzie said and then pretended to trip and fall.

"Nice one McGuire," Miranda laughed.

"Man, I can't believe high school is finally over," Lizzie sighed.

"It went by so fast," Gordo stated.

"It really did. I mean it seems that just yesterday we were freshmen, wandering around the school lost. Now we're all about to scatter in a ton of different directions. It's kind of scary," Miranda pointed out.

"Yeah, we're really going to be on our own soon," Lizzie said.

"I think we can all handle it. You two are very smart girls and I know you can handle whatever life throws your way," Gordo said honestly.

"Aww Gordo, you're so sweet," Lizzie hugged her fiancee.

(McGuire house - pre-graduation)

"Oh Lizzie, your hair is fine," Jo McGuire insisted to her daughter, " besides, you'll be wearing it under a cap for most of the night anyway."

"Mom, I don't care if it's under a cap MOST of the night. That means for part of the night, it won't be under a cap. And I want it just right. I only get to graduate from high school once," Lizzie fiddled with her hairdo.

"Well you better hurry up and get it fixed, you have to get dressed too. And you need to be leaving in about half an hour," Jo sighed, knowing this was one argument she couldn't win.

"I'm almost finished here Mom," Lizzie examined her hair one last time in the mirror and then ran to her room to get her dress on.

Lizzie got dressed, in a fancy dress. Her mother had insisted that she wear this particular dress. Lizzie didn't think it really mattered what she wore because she'd be wearing her gown over it anyway. She didn't want to fight with her Mom on graduation night though. She grabbed her cap and gown, which her Mom had ironed a couple nights ago. She folded it carefully and placed it in her trunk. She then went inside and made sure her parents knew how to work the digital camera. Then she kissed them goodbye and drove to the college. All the students had to be there two hours prior to the start of the ceremony.

"Lizzie, over here!" Miranda shouted when she spotted her friend.

"Hey Miranda," Lizzie joined her.

"Are you nervous?" Miranda asked, "because I'm starting to get nervous."

"I'm not really nervous," Lizzie said, "but I sure thought I would be."

"I'm glad I didn't eat because I have the feeling if I did and got really nervous I might throw up," Miranda laughed nervously.

"So what exactly are we supposed to be doing before the ceremony starts?" Lizzie wondered aloud.

"I don't really know," Miranda said," I guess we have time to go explore the gym and stuff. I know we aren't supposed to leave the stadium, and that's about all I know."

"Well this sucks, we are supposed to just wander around aimlessly for a couple hours. I wonder when Gordo's going to get here. I hope he's here soon," Lizzie scanned the crowd for Gordo.

"He'll be here, don't worry Liz," Miranda assured her.

"Oh there he is now," Lizzie gestured toward Gordo who was coming their way.

"Hey girls," Gordo looked uncomfortable in the suit he was wearing, "before you say a word, my parents made me wear this."

"Mine made me wear this too," Lizzie winked at him.

"And mine made me wear this," Miranda smiled, "I think they feel it's one of their last chances to control us."

Lizzie laughed, "Probably."

"You know they love to have control over us," Gordo adjusted his tie, "I hate ties."

(Half an hour before ceremony begins)

"Seniors! Time to get in your lines to enter to the gym!" a loud voice announced.

The seniors slowly began finding the signs telling them where to stand. The lines began to form. After only ten minutes, they were done and all standing around again. They had to wait for "Pomp and Circumstance" as their cue to enter. Teachers began popping up, all dressed nicely, talking to their favorite students. Then someone started passing out gold medals. They said Hillridge High Class of 2007 on them.

"Okay seniors, put on your medals. Have someone standing next to you make sure you have your cap and gown on correctly. We have a few more minutes to wait for the ceremony to start. They are still seating your parents. No matter how tempting it is to look around for your parents when we get in there, please keep your eyes to the stage at all times. It looks nicer that way so you're not all looking in different directions," the assistant principal directed.

Lizzie took a deep breath. She was finally feeling a little nervous. She just hoped she could make it through the ceremony without crying. She didn't want to lose it in front of all those people. First thing is to make it down the stairs without tripping, Lizzie told herself. She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them when the music began playing. It was time to start.

The Class of 2007 descended to the main floor. They filed in to their seats and waited until everyone was down there to be seated. Then they had to stand back up a minute later for the Star Spangled Banner. They sat back down afterward and the speakers came up to do their speaches. After six speakers, it was time for the actual graduation procession. The rows stood up one at a time and went to have their name called and receive their diplomas.

Gordo was watching to see if he would get the chance to watch Lizzie receive her diploma. Since she was in the middle of the alphabet, she was one of the first people to go on her side. He watched as she strode proudly across the stage and accepted her diploma gracefully. Gordo could not help but smile at her because she was beautiful.

Lizzie was proud of herself for not tripping and falling as she accepted her diploma. She smiled as she went back to her seat as that thought hit her. She sat back down and waited to see her friends walk across the platform. Gordo looked handsome, as usual. Miranda looked very pretty, the color of the gown seemed to really suit her. Lizzie watched as her entire class finished high school. This was truly their last night together. After this, they would all be off on their own, in hundreds of different directions. Yet Lizzie retained her composure. She didn't break down crying as she thought she might. She was just very happy and proud of herself, her friends and her class as a whole.

The last pair of students walked the line and then it was time for the closing speech. Everyone was getting very excited because they all looked forward to tossing their caps up in the air. That was truly the end of their high school careers. They would have their diplomas and that would be their final celebration. Then it was time for everyone to go out and party or go home to dinner with their families visiting from out of state.

"Congratulations Class of 2007, you have completed high school!"

Everyone tossed their caps into the air and shouted with glee. High school was over.

A/N: This story is now complete. I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much I have enjoyed writing it. I can still do a sequel if anyone is interested in reading one, but it might be a little while before that story is up and running. I am in college and with midterms coming up sooner than I'd like, I will be spending tons of time studying. Thank you to everyone who has read or reviewed this story, I really appreciate all of you.

P.S. Sorry, I forgot I had this written. It would have been posted sooner had I not been scatterbrained and forgotten it.


End file.
